Symphonic Abyss
by Zerokai9
Summary: Ending up on a planet 6 months away from Aulderant wasn't what Luke was expecting after deafeating Van. Agreeing to guard the Chosen, Luke desperatly tries to find a way back to Aulderant, no matter what the cost.
1. A Strange New World

**(AN): This is my very first fanfic on this site. This might be little bit big for a first story, but it's just something I've wanted to do for a while, so just go with me. I would also like to thank my friend Patrick for helping me proof read this story. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here, this fic is rated T for language and mild sexual theme, and contains spoilers for Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Symphonia. I do not own either of the two awesome games above, they belong to Namco Bandai.**

**Chapter 1: A Strange New World**

Luke fon Fabre was feeling abstract, to say the least.

After defeating his former swords master, who tried to destroy the world and replicate it, and saying goodbye to his friends and comrades, he tried to summon the spirit Lorelei to seal the poisonous miasma into the core of the planet and return Lorelei to the Fon Belt. He definitely wasn't expecting to be transported to another planet 6 months away from Aulderant through hyperrensonance.

0o0o0o0o0o0

_(Flashback)_

_Luke looked up into the now invisible sky, a barrier provided by Lorelei protecting him from the falling debris of Eldrant. Looking up, he saw the pale body of Asch the Bloody, and tried to catch him. Feeling sad, Luke tried to use Lorelei's power to bring Asch back to life, when IT happened. Suddenly, a bright light engulfed the bodies of him and Asch._

_ "__What the hell?!" Luke shouted, even though nobody could hear him._

_**"**__**Not even the Score could predict this."**__ Said a familiar voice. Before the bright light completely engulfed him and Asch, Luke saw the familiar white, ghostly, form of Lorelei. Then, Luke lost consciousness._

_(End Flashback)_

0o0o0o0o0o0

_"__Man what happened?"_ Luke thought. He was lying on his back on some fresh, green grass, near a river, and his head REALLY hurt. Then he remembered.

"Oh, right! I was trying to save Asch but then… Agh!" Luke clutched his head, as many different memories came flooding back to him. All of them he didn't remember. H saw Natalia in his arms, silently thanking him for catching her. Another one was him practicing fonic artes.

"_Wait, I don't remember that! Oh man, this just like having ten of those headaches at once!" _"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH HHHHHHH!" Clutching his head, Luke tried to make the memories stop, but they just kept coming, all at once. But then, the memories flooding into his mind just… stopped. No headaches at all.

"Man, what happened?" Luke then looked around for the first time, and noticed something.

He didn't recognize the area at all.

"Wait, where am I?" Luke frantically looked around, before setting his emerald green eyes on the river a few feet away from him. Walking to the river, he looked down at his reflection.

He looked just the same as when he and the others defeated Van. Short sleeved white coat with black on some parts, black tank top with the midriff cut out, exposing his muscles. His black pants were still tucked over his brown traveling boots, and he still was wearing his fingerless brown glove. Reaching around to his waist, he felt the hilt of a sword sticking out in it's usual place, and drawing said sword, he pulled out the Key of Lorelei. Satisfied, he sheathed the blade and looked at his reflection again, and what he saw surprised him. His red hair was long again, with two long bangs at both sides of his face almost reaching his waist, and the long part of his hair also reached down to where his scabbard was at. Hanging of his belt was his item bag, wear some gels were. Peering inside, Luke found that he had used more items than he thought, having only 5 apple and orange gels, 1 miracle gel, and 1 life bottle left.

"Looks like I'll have to not use so many items." Luke said to himself, remembering all the times Tear scolded him for using too many items in battle.

"Now where am I?" He thought to himself.

**_"_****_Somewhere not even I knew about."_**Said a familiar voice.

"Wait, Lorelei? Is that you?" Luke called out to thin air.

**_"_****_Yes, and please, think your conversation in your head. I will hear it." _**

_"__Okay, so how can you do that? Why can't you just materialize? And where am I?" _Luke frantically thought.

**_"_****_You trying to bring your original back to life has caused the biggest hyperessonance recorded in Aulderant's history. But I can't say we are in Aulderant anymore"._**

_"__What are you talking about?_

**_"_****_The hyperessonance you caused sent you to another planet, called 'Sylvarant'. _**

_"__Another planet?! B-but, how will I get back home?! Heck, how could I stay alive on a new world I don't have a clue about?" _ Luke panicked.

**_"_****_Relax my scion. I can tell you almost everything you need to know about this world by looking into this planet's memory. However, I can only tell you about important events that have already happened. I am unable to see Sylvarant's future, and cannot tell you about specific people unless they were significant in history". _**

_"__Okay, so that answers some question, but why can't you materialize? And why is my hair longer?" _

**_"_****_To answer your first question, this world does not use fonons"._**

_"__No fonons?! But how am I still alive"?_

**_"_****_This world has a very similar substance to fonons, called 'mana'. The main difference between mana and fonons is that there is only one type of mana, not seven. Because of the similarities, I am still able to form on this planet, but it will be very difficult, so it will be easier to converse with you like this. And to answer your second question, Aulderant and Sylvarant are approximately 6 months apart. You traveled that distance in a instant because of hyperessonance"._**

_"__Okay so how can I get back to Aulderant"? _Luke was starting to feeldown, as it was shaping up to be like he will be stuck on this 'Sylverant' for the rest of his life.

**_"_****_I do not know for now, but I suggest you get to a town and buy supplies. There is a town called Iselia to the Southeast of here. We should go there, then decide our next course of action"._**

_"__Alright, I will. I don't have many other options anyway"._

And with those instructions in mind, Luke set out for Iselia, wondering just what this new world had.

_Skit: New World_

_Luke (Nervous):____Sylvarant, huh? I wonder, do the inhabitants speak my language? Is there a new currency I'll have to get used to? (Confident Smile) Well then, guess I'll just have to adapt! (Sad) I just hope I'm able to get back home._

_End Skit_

Luke obtained the "Alien" Title

_The title given to those not of this world. _

_0o0o0o0o0_

**(AN): Well that ends Chapter 1 of Symphonic Abyss! Please feel free to give me constructive criticism, as long as it isn't flames. I'm going to keep this fic up for now, and if this doesn't get very popular, or no one doesn't like it, I'll take it down. If not, I'll keep working on it. Don't except fast updates, though. One, I'm lazy, and two, I have school to think about. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Onwards, to Iselia!

**(A/N): Hey guys, here's Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to review, criticize, and all that jazz.**

**I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Tales of the Abyss. They belong to Namco Bandai.**

**Chapter 2: Onwards, to Iselia!**

Luke fon Fabre was amazed.

Sylvarant was actually pretty beautiful. In fact, it was very similar to Aulderant. Lush, green fields, eye-catching scenery, it was amazing. Luke was feeling almost… nostalgic. While traveling down the pathway towards Iselia, he decided to ask Lorelei a few more questions about the mysterious planet.

"_Hey Lorelei, what else can you tell me about Sylvarant?"_

**_"_****_Well, for starters, the living beings of Sylvarant consist of humans, elves, dwarves, half elves, as well as various monsters."_**

_"__Wait, elves?! Dwarves?! Aren't those just fairy tales?!"_

**_"_****_According to the planet's memory, elves and dwarves have existed for as long as Sylvarant itself."_**

_"__O-kaaaay, so, what else can you tell me anything more about elves and dwarves?" _Now Luke was curious.

**_"_****_Unfortunately, half elves are widely discriminated against. Why this started is unknown, but the main reason the hatred is so large is due to the fact that because of their discrimination, a group of radical half elves called 'Desians' capture humans and force them to work in camps called Human Ranches. There, humans are either worked to, starved, or tortured to death"._**

_"__That's horrible!" _ Luke thought. "_Is there one near Iselia_?" Now he was afraid of being captured and being worked to death.

**_"_****_Unfortunately, yes. I would advise you to stay away from the ranch. Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with the village to not attack each other and I would like for you to look like a regular person"._**

_Skit: Discrimination_

_Luke:__ So there's discrimination here, too?! Man, I guess all worlds have their problems. (Sad face)But still, even though humans treat half elves badly, the Desians forcing them to work til' death will only make things worse._

_Lorlelei: __My scion, it would do you well to not get caught up in Sylvarant's problems. Our goal at hand is to return to Aulderant. We don't want to seem suspicious. _

_Luke (Eyes closed, looking down): __I know, but… *sigh*I just wish I could do something. It's just like the discrimination against replicas._

_End Skit_

Luke now was starting to feel sad. All those people stuck inside the ranch, and he couldn't do a thing. Damn it, it felt so bad to not be able to help those in front of him!

He didn't have much time to think about it though, as he heard something rustle behind him!

Turning around, he saw… a dog. Actually, he wasn't even sure it could be called a dog. It was BIG, first of all. Like four times the size of a wolf. And second of all, it had white fur with a teal green mane, and large ears. Not what you would see on a normal dog.

Luke was about to reach for the Key of Lorelei when he heard a (very strangely accented) voice:

"Dagnabit, Noishe! What will it take ye to… hm?" The voice belonged to a short, stout man with bushy brown eyebrows and a thick goatee. And he seemed to notice Luke.

"Ah! Sorry about that! Noishe wasn't bothering ye, was he?'

"Um, no. I just heard your uh, pet behind me and thought he was a monster."

"Ah, sorry. He does that from time ta time. Now pardon me askin', but what are ye doing out here? It not the safest place ta walk around, given all the monsters an' all."

"Well, I was on my way to Iselia. Am I going in the right direction?" Luke asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact! Just keep headin' south, and you'll see the town in no time." The man seemed oddly enthusiastic about helping a complete stranger.

"Okay! That you, uh…."

"Dirk. Dirk Irving."

"Thank you!"

"No problem. Dwarven vow #2: _Never abandon someone in need!"_

"You're a dwarf?"

"Yeah. Is there somethin' wrong with that?" Dirk's voice lowered into an almost threatening level.

"No!" Luke said quickly. "I've just never seen a dwarf before. I'm just a little surprised."

"Ah, sorry. No harm done. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work." And with that, Dirk and Noishe walked away.

_"__That was... interesting. So that's what a dwarf looks like."_

**_"_****_Yes. And he wasn't lying about Iselia's location. It should be about 5 or so minutes to get there."_**

_"__Nice! Let's get moving!"_

0o0o0o0o0

**(A/N): Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd that's Chapter 2. Please, tell me if Luke sounds right. I don't want to mess his or any other character's personalities. Anyways, please, feel free to review, favorite, whatever. Thanks for reading!**

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	3. A New Friend

**(A/N): Alright, I'm going to try writing this chapter in first person instead of third person. Please let me know in the reviews if you want it in third or first person. Also, thanks to knightblazer85 for writing the first review I have ever gotten on this site. **

**Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Symphonia are copyrighted to Namco Bandai. If I owned either one of these series, I wouldn't be here sitting on my ass writing this story.**

**Chapter 3: A New Friend **

(Luke PoV)

As I continued down the pathway, I could see a gateway up in the distance.

_"__That must be Iselia." _ I thought.

I continued walking up to the gateway, but I was then stopped by some of the town guards.

"Halt!" one of the 2 guards guarding the gate shouted. "Who are you?"

"I'm a traveler. I'm stopping by Iselia to buy some supplies."

The guards looked me over a little bit, then let me in. "Don't cause trouble now, and you'll be just fine." One of them said. But, something told me that they weren't that well trained. Still, I didn't want or need to cause trouble, so I simply nodded and went off into the village.

Iselia reminded me a lot of Engeve, except being a little bit bigger. There were some small gardens here and there, and Iselia had a few more buildings than Engeve. But it was still very similar. I saw some kids playing with wooden sticks, and others playing with a ball. Some people stared at me, and I realized I probably stood out like a sore thumb. I was now happy my hair was long, because it hid the black demon sigil on the back of my coat. I didn't want people to get the wrong idea.

I began to walk around the village. I wasn't really that big. After a few minutes, I found an inn and an item shop on the east side of town. Walking into the item shop, I began to notice a few things. For one, Sylvarant used the exact same currency as Aulderant, gald. Secondly, Sylvarant also used life bottles and gels! How similar was Sylvarant to Auldrant? I had some gald that I collected from chest and monsters around Eldrant. I don't know why some monsters were even carrying gald at all, but I just went with it. Anyways, I bought some life bottles, apple gels, orange gels, food, a canteen, as well as a new diary while I was at it (My old one was just about filled).

After putting the newly bought items into the item bag, I turned around and walked out the door. As I was walking out of the shop, I accidentally bumped into someone. He was the first to recover, and immediately helped me up.

"Sorry! Didn't see where I was going there! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I looked at the person who helped me up. The person was a teenage boy, who looked like he was a year younger than me. His hair was brown, and oddly spiked upwards to the left of his face. What really surprised me was what he wore. The teen's long sleeved shirt was bright red, and had A LOT of buttons on it. The shirt was also collared, and had the two ends of a white scarf billowing out on either side of him. His black pants were held up by brown suspenders, and had two belts criss-crossing each other around his waist, and each belt had a scabbard which held the hilts of two wooden swords. The boy also wore red glove and boots, the same color as his shirt.

"Hey, are you new to Iselia? I haven't seen you here before. I'm Lloyd."

"Luke. Luke fon Fabre." It felt weird saying my name like that.

"Wow, that's a cool name!"

"Thanks. Anyway, I'm a traveler. I was just stopping by to pick up supplies and stay until tomorrow."

"You know, you can stay with me if you want. The beds at the inn aren't all that great." I was surprised. Lloyd was offering me a place to stay for no reason other than to be nice.

"Thanks, but I don't want to-" "Hey, it's not a big deal. Dwarven vow #2: Never abandon someone in need!"

"Um, thanks, I guess. If it's okay with your parents.'

"No worries! Dad won't mind!"

"If you say so. Let's go back when the sun is starting to set."

"Alright!"

0o0o0o0o0

_Lloyd joined the party!_

0o0o0o0o0

_Skit: Getting to know you_

_Luke: So, you live here in Iselia Lloyd?_

_Lloyd: Nah, I live out of town. My friends live in Iselia, and I go to school here, so that's why I'm usually here. Where are you from, Luke?_

_Luke (Surprised): Uh... I'm… from…_

_Lloyd: Hey if you don't want to talk about it, that's okay. What do you normally do?_

_Luke: I like to practice swordplay. I'd say I'm an okay swordsman._

_Lloyd: Cool! Can you spar with me at my house? _

_Luke: Sure, why not?_

_(Luke and Lloyd exit)_

_Lorelei: Luke, I hope you don't get too attached to Lloyd. It might impede our progress._

_End Skit_

Lloyd gave me a tour of Iselia. "Here, is the schoolhouse. I really don't like it here." I looked up at the old wooden house. "Alright." I said. We then walked to the west side of town, a little above where I first walked in. "And here," Lloyd said, "Is the Sage's house. My teacher and her brother live here."

Just then, a young sounding voice called out to us. "Hey, Lloyd! What're you doing?" Me and Lloyd looked over to see a kid a bit shorter than Anise walk up to us. Looking down at the kid, I saw that he had long, spiky, and _silver _hair. Is it normal in Sylvarant for people to hair like that so young? The kid also wore a sky blue short-sleeved sweater over a black shirt, sky blue shorts with weird white glyphs on them, and black and sky blue shoes. He stopped and looked at me. "Who're you?" he asked.

"This is Luke." Lloyd said to the kid. "He was passing through Iselia and I offered him a place to stay."

"Lloyd, you're WAY too kind. Someday, you're going to let in an escaped criminal into your house."

"Hey, I'm just following the vows."

"That's your excuse for everything!" The kid seemed to have forgotten about me.

"HEY!" I shouted. This seemed to have gotten their attention.

"Sorry, Luke." The kid replied, "I'm Genis Sage. I live at this house."

"It's okay. No harm done."

"Anyways," Lloyd turned to Genis, "have you seen Colette anywhere, Genis?"

"She'd said that she and Phaidra were going to the Martel Temple to do some church stuff, and won't be back until late in the afternoon."

"Okay, we'll just talk to her tomorrow. By the way, did you need us for something?" Lloyd asked. He had a point; Genis had called Lloyd like he had wanted something.

"Oh yeah." Genis suddenly grinned evilly. "Raine said she wanted to talk to you about your behavior in class today. She's in the school right now, and doesn't want you to be late." Lloyd's face was immediately drained all color once he heard that.

"Oh, ah, tell the Professor I'll be with her in a moment." Lloyd said with a sheepish grin as he began to inch away.

"Do you want me to tell her that you ran away?" Genis grinned.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Lloyd said as he went towards the schoolhouse, completely forgetting about me. I sighed.

"Hey," Genis said to me, "Don't take it personal about what I said to Lloyd. He may be an idiot, but he's still a good person. I wouldn't be friends with him if he wasn't."

"It's alright. I'll just go outside the borders and maybe kill some monsters. Could you tell Lloyd that?' I said, remembering what Lorelei said about monsters habiting the planet. I turned around and went to the northeastern entrance.

"Sure, no problem." Genis replied.

"Thanks" I said, rushing off.

0o0o0o0

I went a little bit outside Iselia out to some fields. "Alright," I grinned, unsheathing the Key of Lorelei "Let's see if my skills have gotten rusty after six months." I spotted a pack of wolves, which then seemed to notice me, and started to run at me. "Demon Fist!" I shouted as I uppercutted the air, sending out a white shockwave. It hit one of the wolves straight on, knocking it aside. The wolf next to it then lunged at me, but I blocked the attack before killing it with a well placed Sonic Thrust. Only one other wolf remained. I charged at it, then jumped into the air, placed my leg and blade forward, and shouted "Havoc Strike!" I hit the wolf's skull dead on, killing it instantly. It was here I discovered one thing: In Sylvarant, killing monsters doesn't make their mana run out and have the bodies disappear! It was weird. Anyway, I skinned the wolves with my hunting knife (and somehow found gald in the process), disposed of the bodies, and sat down to take a break.

"Wow, even after six months, I'm still going strong!"

**_"_****_Yes, it appears that even though six months passed mentally, it didn't seem to pass physically. This gives us a big advantage."_**

_"__Yeah. That's great."_

I then sat up and started to kill some more monsters. They were REALLY easy. I think I might have killed monsters for about twenty minutes. I just finished killing some birds when I heard a voice say "Excuse me, sir."

I turned around to see four people: an old looking lady in the front, two tall men in the back of the old lady, their formation forming a triangle, and in the middle of said triangle was a blonde haired girl around Tear's age. They all wore pure white clothes that reminded me of the robes worn by the Order of Lorelei.

"Yes?" I responded, putting my weapon away. They didn't look like bandits. "Who're you?"

"I'm sorry, sir but may I ask you something?"

"…What is it?"

"Phaidra, do you really think you should ask us him? This is really important matters." One of the men in the back asked the old lady. I could have sworn that I heard that name before. But where?

"Why, what are you asking?" I asked, now curious about what these people had wanted.

"Well, sir-"

"Luke. Luke is fine."

"Well Luke, my name is Phaidra, and I am a priestess at the Martel Temple near Iselia." I nodded. "And in case you didn't know, The Journey of Regeneration is a few days away."

I drowned her out before asking Lorelei about this Journey of Regeneration.

**_"__The Journey of Regeneration is when a person known as The Chosen takes a pilgrimage around various temples in Sylvarant in order to keep the world from dying. The importance of the Chosen in Sylvarant is on the same level of importance as Fon Master Ion." _**I silently thanked Lorelei before returning to the conversation.

"Will you accept?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What was the question again?"

"Will you accept the job of protecting the Chosen during The Journey of Regeneration?"

"Wait, **what?**" She was offering the job of protecting the most important person in the world to a random person who she just learned the name of? "Why me?"

"Phaidra thought that you were a skilled swordsman after watching you kill some of those monsters." One of the men in the back said. "And we were having a difficult job finding mercenaries who work cheaply, so she decided to ask you."

"Okaaaaay. I'm happy that you think that I'm skilled enough to guard The Chosen, but… can you give me some time to think about it? This is really overwhelming." I asked.

"That is fine." Phaidra said. "Try to give us your answer by Wednesday, please? It's when the Jurney starts. Do you have a place to stay? We could book you a room at the inn."

"No, I'm already staying somewhere. It's close to Iselia though. I'll talk to you when I have an answer."

"Alright. Please let us know as soon as possible. Good day, Luke." As they were leaving, the girl in the middle said "Goodbye, Mr. Luke!" happily. Then they were gone. I looked at the sky, and then decided to kill some more monsters before going back in. Iselia wasn't big, and Lloyd shouldn't be too hard to find.

An hour before sunset, I went back into Iselia. I went towards the schoolhouse, and saw Lloyd outside. He then saw me and ran up to me.

"Hey Luke! Where were you?"

"I was outside the village, killing some monsters. How was the meeting"

"L-let's not talk about that." He looked like he was going to faint. "Anyway, it's close to sundown. We should probably head back to my house. Let's go, it's only a 12 to 15 minute walk, depending on how the monsters are." And with that, Lloyd and I headed off towards that southwest entrance.

0o0o0o0o

**And, that's chapter 3. Sorry for taking so long, I couldn't find a decent reason for Luke to stay with Lloyd. To make up for this delay, though, I made the chapter MUCH longer than the previous two chapters (6 pages compared to 2). Anyway, next chapter, Luke will see if he will accompany the Chosen, and meet some new people.**

**As always, I'm Zerokai9, and I'll see you next time.**

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	4. Luke's Decision

**(A/N): Hey guys, here's the next chapter of Symphonic Abyss. I decided to keep writing in first person from now on. The whole story will be from Luke's perspective, unless I say otherwise. And to my second ever reviewer on this site, mog the 13 moogle, this story will follow the story of the games for both Abyss and Symphonia, but I will occasionally make an allusion to the animes. With that in mind, let's get it on!**

**Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Symphonia are copyrighted by Namco Bandai.**

**Chapter 4: Luke's Decision**

As me and Lloyd went through the southwestern gate, we saw that same white "dog" I saw as I was walking to Iselia. Noishe, was it? Anyway, the dog ran up to Lloyd and started to whine.

"Hey Noishe. It's nice to see you." He said as he started to pet Noishe behind his large ears. Noishe then turned to me and stared at me for a little, not making a sound.

"Huh? Hey Luke, do you know Noishe?" he asked.

"Not on a personal level. He tried to sneak up on me as I was going to Iselia, but I caught him. His owner then came up to us, and I asked him directions to Iselia." I explained.

"Oh! So you met dad?" He asked, surprised.

"Wait, that drawf was your dad?! B-but… your human, and he's-"

"Dirk is my adoptive father. Noishe is our dog." Lloyd said as he continued to pet Noishe some more.

"Ah, that explains it." I said. I then knelt down and tried to pet Noishe. He sniffed my hand, and then allowed me to pet him.

"Wow, normally Noishe doesn't like strangers. I guess he knows your friendly because he's seen you before." Lloyd said as I pet Noishe behind his ears. At least I thought it was a boy.

"Anyway, shouldn't we get going?" I asked.

"Yeah. Noishe drops me off and picks me up every day when I go to school."

"Alright, let's go."

0o0o0o0

We walked through the forest with Noishe trotting in between us. Lloyd decided to ask me a question:

"So how long have you been practicing swordplay, Luke?"

"Since I was seven or eight. My family was friends with a swords master, so I learned most of my techniques from him." I left out the part about Master Van trying to destroy the world.

"Nice. Can you teach me some moves, or at least spar?" This surprised me. Someone asking me to teach them? I figured why not. It was the least I could do for Lloyd for letting me stay at his place.

"Okay sure. Why not?"

"Thanks, Luke!"

Skit: Swordplay

Luke: So Lloyd, I'm guessing you have two swords in case you lose one, right?

Lloyd: Nope. I use them both at once. (Victory Pose) If the power of one blade is 100, then the power of two blades would be 200, right?

Luke (Confused): …That doesn't make sense.

Lloyd (Angry): Yes it does! Professor Sage said that 2 are better than one! Shouldn't that apply to anything?

Luke (Sarcastic Look): …Riiiiiiiiiiiiight. (Normal) Then again, I once saw someone that held his sword in one hand and the sheath in the other, so I guess this isn't TOO abnormal. 

Lloyd: Heh, right. C'mon, let's go. (Lloyd exits)

Luke (Ashamed): …Guy, I hope you and the others are coping well.

End Skit

As we walked up the pathway, I looked to my left and saw a big building that looked like it was made out of steel. Lloyd noticed this, and his face immediately darkened.

"The Human Ranch. We're not allowed to go there." My eyes widened. This is where all those horrible things happened to humans. I shuttered to think about how the Desians treated them.

"So that's what a ranch looks like. Do you have to look at this every day?"

"Yes." I decided not to press any further.

0o0o0o0

As we walked down the final stretch to Lloyd's house, some monsters attacked us. "Hey Lloyd, show me what got in this battle! Don't hesitate to ask me for help!" I said as I unsheathed The Key of Lorelei.

"Don't worry! This will be a piece of cake!" He said back as he drew both wooden swords from the sheaths.

The monsters we faced were a large bunny and two somewhat smaller bees. Before fighting, I used Steel to brace myself in case I got stung. Those stingers looked like they hurt. I then charged at the bees. "Fang Blade!" I shouted as the swung the Key downwards before slashing upwards while jumping. The bee died instantly. After bringing the other bee down with Havoc Strike, I finished it off with Raging Blast. I turned around to see Lloyd still going at the bunny. It then occurred to me that Lloyd was still a beginner, because his main strategy consisted of swinging his swords around and occasionally using Demon Fang.

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd shouted as he swung one of his blades horizontally, creating a light blue and white shockwave. It hit the bunny, but it wasn't very powerful, because it was still standing with barely a scratch. Frowning, I ran up to the rabbit and stabbed it, before charging up some energy in my fist and upper cutted the bunny.

"Rending Thrust!" I called out as I killed the rabbit. I then put the Key of Lorelei back in its sheath and placed both of my hands behind my head, leaning back.

Lloyd quickly put away his wooden swords and said excitedly: "Wow, Luke! I didn't think you'd be that good!"

"Heh-heh, thanks. I'm nothing special, though. I don't really consider myself a master swordsman yet."

"Well, I think you'd be a great master someday. Just keep pushing harder!" I grinned.

I smiled back. "Cool, now how much farther is your house?" I looked off into the distance, trying to find a building of some kind that wasn't the Human Ranch.

"It's just up ahead. C'mon, let's go!" And with that, we walked off.

Skit: Random Gald

Lloyd (Surprised): Wait, where did you get that gald?

Luke (Surprised): Huh? (Normal) Oh, I just found it in the corpse of those last couple of monsters we fought. 

Lloyd (Surprised): …

Luke (Annoyed): Yeah, I don't know either. Don't ask.

Lloyd (Confused): Um, finders keepers?

Luke (Annoyed): Sure, let's go with that.

End Skit (1)

0o0o0o0

In no time at all, we arrived at Lloyd's house. It was fairly big, with two stories and a balcony. Noishe ran off into a pen to the right of the house, while Lloyd and I headed inside. When we were inside, we found ourselves in a kitchen. It had a big table against the wall with four chairs on the left, and an oven and stove on the right. In the back was a door that led to some other room. From said room I could hear a clanging sound. Behind the stove and oven were some stairs that went up to the second floor. It seemed like a nice place to live.

"Dad, I'm home!" Lloyd called out.

"Ah, good to see ya, mah boi (2)! How was yer day?" At that moment, the same dwarf that told me how to get to Iselia came out of the room in the back of the kitchen, albeit being covered in soot.

Dirk then looked at me then said: "Hey, ain't you the one who needed directions to Iselia?"

Lloyd interjected: "This is Luke. I met him at the item shop in Iselia. He said that he was traveling, and I offered him to stay with us. Is that okay with you?"

"So you've been followin' the dwarven vows, eh? Good to see I taught ya well, Lloyd. Anyways, Luke, it's fine for you tah stay 'ere. Ye seem like a lad who wouldn't be a troublemaker. That's good. Anyway, just put yer stuffs up in Lloyd's room, and I'll start making dinnah (2)."

"Really, sir? I don't want to impose…"

"It's fine, really Luke. Its part of the vows I live by to never abandon those in need."

"Okay, if it's really alright…"

"C'mon Luke, I'll show you my room! It's just upstairs."

We went up the stairs into Lloyd's room. The entire second floor was his room. It had a table with two chairs, a bed, and a door leading out to the balcony. I put The Key of Lorelei, my item bag, and backpack in the corner. Then we discussed sleeping arrangements.

"So Luke," Lloyd began, "how long do you think you'll be in Iselia?"

"Well, it depends."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, ah," I then told him about Phaidra's proposal.

"Wait, Colette's grandmother asked you to guard her?"

"Who's Colette?"

"She's my friend, and the Chosen. She was there right? Blue eyes, blonde hair? You should have seen her."

"Wait, that was the Chosen?!" That actually would explain why she was in the middle of the triangle formed by Phaidra and the other two priests.

"Yeah. Don't worry about her being mean. Saying she's mean is like saying the Desians like humans. So, are you gonna protect her?"

"Um, maybe. I'm still not sure."

"Hey, I think you should. After seeing what you can do today, you can easily protect her, Luke!"

"Thanks."

"Alright, if you think you decide to protect Colette, then I'll sleep on the floor."

"Really? I don't…"

"I've slept on the floor before. It's no big deal. Besides, what kind of host makes his guest sleep on the floor, anyway?"

I grinned. For some reason, I felt at ease talking with Lloyd. It was almost like talking to a less mature Guy. In fact, he reminded me a lot of Guy. Their fighting styles were similar and they were both incredibly humble. The fact that Lloyd is treating me, a complete stranger, with this much kindness made me think that if I can't go back home, at least I know Lloyd would be able to accept me. Realizing that, I felt the happiest I've felt all day. (3)

After dinner with Dirk (spaghetti and meatballs with fresh bread), I went up to the balcony outside Lloyd's room, while he sat on his bed.

Sitting on the railing, I asked Lorelei about becoming the Chosen's guardian.

_"__Lorelei, what do you think I should do? About becoming the Chosen's guardian?"_

**_"_****_Well, in order to make a decision, I think you should know a little bit more about the Journey of Regeneration. First, the Chosen must receive a blessing from an angel of Cruxis –the organization of the Angels- who would come down on the Chosen's 16_****_th_****_ birthday and ask the Chosen if they would accept the task of regenerating the world. If the Chosen accepts, The Tower of Salvation will appear in Sylvarant. But, before going to the tower of Salvation, the Chosen must unlock four seals in four different temples all across the world. When the Chosen activates these seals, they will gain the powers of the angels, such as wings and angelic artes, but lose a part of their humanity, such as the ability to sleep or eat."_**

_"__Wait, what?! Colette has to sacrifice her humanity for the sake of the world?!"_

**_"_****_Yes. Now, once all this is complete, the door to the Tower of Salvation will open, and once the Chosen climbs to the very top of the tower, they will become an angel themselves. They will then descend to heaven, and Sylvarant is regenerated."_**

_"__And if the Chosen fails?"_

**_"_****_Sylvarant will die, becoming a desolate wasteland."_**

Wow, I now had a lot more respect for the Chosen. Although, something still bugged me. _"Why are you telling me this?"_

**_"_****_If the planet's memory is correct, I propose a theory that the angels of Cruxis might know of Aulderant or how to get back there. Keep in mind that this is a theory, and might not work. So choose carefully if you decide to become Colette's guardian."_**

My mind was racing. A way to get back to Aulderant? I had to take the chance. It was risky, but I had no choice. If the angels don't know about Aulderant, I will just have to think of a new way. Simple as that.

Going back inside, I saw Lloyd getting ready for bed, dressed only in a dark grey tank top and some red boxers.

"Hey Luke, are you gonna go to bed?"

"Yeah, in a few minutes. I'm going to look outside for a little more. That alright with you?"

"Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow, Luke."

"Yeah. Goodnight."

Once Lloyd went to bed, I took out my newly bought diary I bought and started to write in it. It was decided. Tomorrow, I will find Phaidra and accept her offer. Aulderant, here I come!

_Luke's Diary (4)_

_Important Notes: How time works_

_According to Lorelei, one year on Sylvarant is 365 days. A year is divided up into 12 months (in order: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December). Each month has a different amount of weeks divided into 7 days (In order"Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday). One day is 24 hours._

_March 21_

_Day 1_

_Strange New World, Iselia, and a New Friend_

_Today, I woke up on a strange planet called after causing a hyperessonance in order to seal the miasma on Aulderant. However, Lorelei is still with me, and told me everything I needed to know about the planet. Afterwards, I made my way to a village called Iselia to buy supplies. There, I met Lloyd, who invited me to stay at his house. Something about a dwarven vow and helping those in need. Anyway, me and Lloyd split up after we found out that he needed to go to his school for something. He left, so I went outside the village to kill some monsters and see if my skills have gotten rusty. While fighting, an old lady named Phaidra asked me if I could accept the job of guarding the Chosen of Sylvarant. I told her that I would think about it. After that, I met up with Lloyd again and we went to his house. There, I decided that I would guard Colette, because The Journey of Regeneration could hold the key to getting back home. Tomorrow, I will go to Iselia to accept Phaidra's offer._

_-Luke_

0o0o0o0o

**And that was Chapter 4. Sorry for the wait, but I'm lazy and these thing take awhile to write. Anyways, please feel free to review, and constructively criticize. **

**(1)****Just so you know, the characters wondering why monsters are carrying money is going to be a running gag.**

**(2)****I swear those Zelda CDi references weren't intentional. I just saw them while proofreading this part and couldn't resist. Yes, I know the joke is outdated, but I don't care!**

**(3)****No, there is going to be no Yaoi between any characters, though expect a lot of bromance between Lloyd and Luke**

**(4)****At the end of each in story 'day', Luke will right an entry in his diary. Keep in mind, the tie notes is just for Luke to remember how a year in Sylvarant works, because this a completely different time system then what he's used to.**

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	5. The Oracle Appears!

**(A/N): Alright I'm back! Sorry for the break, but since I am now on Winter Break; I can hopefully put up more chapters! So now it's time… for Chapter 5 of Symphonic Abyss!**

**Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss are copyrighted by Namco Bandai.**

**Chapter 5: The Oracle Appears!**

The next day, I awoke up around mid morning (according to Lorelei) to find Lloyd putting his pants on.

"Hey Lloyd, what're you doing today?"

"Well, since school is out on Saturday and Sunday, I typically just go to Genis or Colette's house to see what their up to." He said as pulled the same red long sleeved shirt over a grey tank top. "Why?"

"Well, I decided. I'm going to protect Colette on The Journey of Regeneration." I said confidently.

Lloyd grinned. "That's great, Luke! You, me, Genis, and the Professor, assisting Colette as she saves the world! (1)" I didn't have the heart to tell Lloyd that he REALLY needed to step his sword skills to be Colette's guardian.

"Okay, so, can you bring me to Colette's house? I want to tell Phaidra that I'm accepting her offer."

"Alright! It's not hard to miss; Colette's house is the only house in Iselia to have a second story."

"Okay, let's have breakfast and get moving." I said as my stomach grumbled.

After having some pancakes, Noishe, Lloyd and I walked down to Iselia, this time without monsters attacking us. As we got to the gate, Lloyd stopped and turned to Noishe, "Alright, Noishe, I'll see you later." Noishe whined, licked Lloyd's hand and walked away.

"Why don't you let Noishe come into the village?" I asked.

"The mayor won't allow Noishe in, saying that he'll scare the villagers into thinking he's a monster." Lloyd replied in a strange tone of voice.

"Alright…" I didn't go any further because it sounded like I hit a nerve.

We walked into Iselia and Lloyd took me to a two story house with a red brick roof. He knocked on the door, and the door opened to a blonde haired girl- the same girl I saw yesterday with Phaidra. I guessed this was Colette. She was wearing the same white priestess dress, white boots, and navy blue pants from when I saw her the other day.

"Hey, Colette, how are you doing?" Lloyd asked. I was right, it WAS Colette.

"Oh, Lloyd!" She said happily, then looked over at me, and looked surprised when she saw me, "and Mr. Luke, too! Are you here about Grandmother's proposal?"

"First off, Luke is just fine. And secondly, yes, I'm here for Phaidra's proposal. Where is she?"

"She'll be down soon. She's just getting dressed. Come in, please! I'm having breakfast. Have you two already eaten?"

Lloyd answered this one, "Yeah, we ate before coming here. How long will your grandma be?"

"It should be about five minutes." The girl answered as she invited us inside. The three of us sat down at a table in the kitchen, and we started to talk.

"So Lloyd, how long have you and Luke known each other?" Colette asked us.

"I met Lloyd when I was walking out of the item shop the day I got into town." I began, "He offered me a place at his house, and after some small talk, I accepted."

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Lloyd added.

I was going to ask Colette some more questions, but a voice interrupted us: "Colette, dear, is someone here?" It was Phaidra.

Phaidra was still wearing her priestess dress. She looked at me and Lloyd and smiled. "Ah, Lloyd, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine." Lloyd answered.

Turning to me, Phaidra asked, "And Luke, good to see you. Have you made your decision yet?"

"Yeah." I said nodding, "I've made up my mind. I'll help protect Colette during The Journey of Regeneration."

Phaidra smiled, and Colette seemed overjoyed. "That's wonderful, Luke!" Phaidra said, "It really does lighten a heavy burden. But are you sure? It's a long journey, and-"

"It's fine." I quickly interjected, "I've been traveling by myself for a year now, so I'm kind of used to it. The bigger question is if Colette is up or the journey."

"I've been preparing for the journey since I was young. I'm ready for it." Colette answered for Phaidra.

"Alright then, is there anything else I need to know about The Journey?" I asked. Considering what happened at while traveling in Aulderant, I needed to know everything I needed to know.

"Yes, there is." Phaidra answered, "First off, we need to let the mayor of Iselia know about you accepting, though he might need some convincing of your abilities, Luke." I nodded, "Also, you're not the only one accompanying Colette."

"Really? Who else is coming?"

"Colette and Lloyd's schoolteacher, Raine Sage. Raine is an elf and knows some healing magic, so she will be going with you as a healer."

"_Raine Sage, where did I hear that name before?_"

Returning to reality, I responded, "Okay. Anything else?"

"Just one last thing, Luke. The Journey will start in a week; one day after Colette receives the Oracle. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand." I said, nodding.

"Fantastic. Now Luke, Colette, could you follow me to the mayor's house? I need to tell him that you're ready to guard Colette." Phaidra said as she started to walk to the door.

"Okay, Grandmother!" Colette said cheerfully, standing up from her chair.

"Does the mayor already know about me?" I asked.

"Yes, I mentioned you to him, and he said that he'll consider you." Phaidra then perked up, as if she remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot, Lloyd, since you're here, could you please be a dear and tell Raine to meet me by the mayor's house?"

"Yeah, no problem." Lloyd said.

(Luke earned the title: 'Guardian of the Chosen'!)

An honorable title given to those who guard the person who will restore the land of Sylvarant

Colette, Phaidra, and I then walked to the mayor's house near the middle of the town. There, the mayor gave me a hard time, saying that I was too young (Not that I blame him), but after some convincing and showing off some of my moves, he agreed, but told me that if some other experienced mercenary came with a low price, he would hire them and fire me. I said that if some other experienced mercenary came with a low price, I would still guard Colette, but allow the other mercenary to come with us for extra protection.

Sometime in the middle of the agreement, Lloyd came in with a silver haired lady who was identified as the Raine person Phaidra mentioned earlier. I was surprised at how young she was; only looking 2 or 3 years older than Guy. Raine wore an orange jacket with black glyphs over a white blouse, as well as black pants and snow white boots. When Raine was told that I was the person that was guarding Colette, she disapproved completely. It took a LOT more convincing for Raine, but we eventually convinced her that I was good for the job. What really disturbed me is that during the interview, Raine kept glancing at me, as if she was studying me. It was both creepy and distracting.

As we walked out of the mayor's house, I heard Raine's voice behind me: "Luke, could I ask you a few questions?" Not wanting to seem suspicious, I turned around.

"Sure, what's up Raine?"

With a stern look on her face, Raine asked bluntly: "Who are you exactly?" It was hard not to flinch at that question.

"What do you mean?" I answered. "I'm Luke fon Fabre, a wandering swordsman. Simple as that."

Raine stared at me with a watchful for a few seconds, and then a cunning smile appeared on her face before saying: "Well Luke, I just hope you're up for the responsibility for guarding Colette. Just remember that Colette failing could her fault as well as ours."

I nodded seriously. "Right, I'll remember that."

Raine nodded in turn, and then walked away. **_"That Sage woman could prove to be trouble. She seems to suspect you not being of this world." _**Lorelei's voice sounded throughout my mind. **_"According to the planet's memory, elves and half-elves can tell different species apart from one another by observing there mana signatures. Since you are from a planet without mana, she might be able to see that you are not of this planet."_**

_"__Do you think she knows?" _I asked in my mind.

**_"_****_Do I look like I can read minds?"_**

Before I could respond, Lloyd, Colette, and that Genis kid from yesterday walked up to me. Lloyd was the first to congratulate me. "Nice job Luke! Don't worry about what the mayor has to say, you'll make a great guardian!"

Colette then added: "I look forward to travel with you, Luke!" When she said this, Colette's smiled somehow looked fake, sad almost. For some reason, it reminded me of Ion when he told us back on Aulderant the darker parts of the Score and the Order of Lorelei.

Genis stared at me for a second, then said with a hint of sarcasm: "I just hope Raine doesn't drive you crazy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

Genis just smirked, "You'll see why."

I shot him a deadpan look before asking Colette: "So now what? Do I just wait until you receive the Oracle?"

Colette nodded "Pretty much, yes. You will have to accompany me whenever I go outside the village, though."

"I'm cool with that." I then looked up at the sky, "So, seven days until the journey begins."

_"…__And seven days until I can start the process of getting back to Aulderant." _I thought sadly, but didn't let it show.

(Later that night, at Dirk's house)

_March 22_

_Day 2_

_Guarding Colette_

_Today I went to Colette's house with Lloyd to tell Phaidra about the proposition. Pahidra seem pleased that I was accepting the offer, then after telling me a few things about the journey, we went to the Mayor's house to negotiate about me becoming Colette's guardian._

_To say that the negotiation could have gone better was an understatement. It took at least ten minutes of convincing until we were able to convince the mayor to let me guard Colette, then twenty more minutes when the other person who was guarding Colette, Raine Sage, came in and also disapproved of me becoming Colette's guardian! Man… that was a handful._

_Also, after the interview/negotiation, Raine asked me about who I was, which seem weird at the time, and then Lorelei told me that Raine might know that I'm not from this world, (due to the fact that those with elfish descent could trace mana signatures to tell different races apart) and that made me nervous. Thinking about it now, Lloyd mentioned something about Genis being related to Raine, which could explain why he looked at me weirdly when I first met him._

_Anyways, only seven days until The Journey of Regeneration starts. I really want to get home._

_-Luke_

(Seven days later)

Finally, after seven day of waiting, killing monsters, and accompanying Colette to the Martel Temple, the day of the Oracle has finally come! I didn't write anything down in my diary because there really was nothing to write about.

I got up at 9 in the morning and went with Lloyd to his schoolhouse. Phaidra had asked me the day before to go to the school in case the Oracle showed up during the school day. We got there ten minutes before class began, so I went to Lloyd's classroom while he went with Colette to the school's backyard.

I walked into Lloyd's classroom and saw Raine and Genis setting up for the lesson today. Raine looked up from the lesson plan and said: "Ah, Luke. Are you going to be joining us today?"

"Yeah, Phaidra asked me to be here with Colette incase the Oracle showed up during class."

"That's alright; I think I have a spare desk, so you can sit there. Oh, and please try to pay attention." A stern look then crossed her face, "Even though your only here for today, I will not tolerate disruptions in class."

"You'd be wise to listen to my sister, Luke." Genis piped up, "Just ask Lloyd. I sure he has a lot of stories about when got caught paying attention." Raine then smacked Genis upside the head.

"That's enough, Genis." She then turned to me and pointed at a desk in the back left, "That seat over there is open, so you can sit there."

I nodded and sat where she had pointed. I sat there for about five minutes, bored out of my mind, then started to glance around the room. Various books sat on the tables, pictures drawn by some of the students were hung up on the walls, Raine was writing some lessons down on the chalkboard, about everything I've read about typical elementary schools back in Aulderant was here. Eventually, Raine saw me glancing around, and asked me: "Is there something wrong, Luke?"

"Sorry, I've been homeschooled my entire life, so this is my first time in a classroom."

"Why's that? Every child deserves a proper education."

"My mother was hesitant about letting me out of my house. I've really only been let out on my own a couple of times." I said truthfully.

"And do they know about you wandering around Sylvarant?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that being able to go out on my own was my present for turning seventeen years old."

Raine didn't ask any more questions, and after about ten more minutes, the students finally started to pour into the classroom. There were only fifteen kids in the class, which seemed pretty small. Lloyd sat two seats to the right of me, and he flashed me a thumbs up, which I returned. After an eternity and a day, class began.

After introducing me to the class, Raine started to talk about Mithos the hero, which they had been studying for the past week. I pretended to pay attention, while getting the full story from Lorelei.

**_"_****_Mithos was a hero who lived 4000 years ago, around the time of Sylvarant's creation. It is said that he sealed away the Desians, prevented a global war, and made a pact with Martel to make sure that the mana in the world will flourish. In some ways, he could be considered the first Chosen. (2)"_**

_"…__Is that all?"_

**_"_****_Unfortunately, that's all the planet's memory has to say."_**

_"…__Okaaay."_

Everything Raine taught us Lorelei already told me, so I just looked like I was paying attention and occasionally glanced around the room. Great minds must think alike, because Lloyd did the exact same thing. After about 2 hours, he got caught sleeping in class twice (which earned him a smack upside the head), and for not paying attention (Raine got angry and threw a piece of chalk at his forehead, knocking Lloyd down with his chair [3]), and was eventually punished by having to stand up while holding two buckets full of water (one in each hand) in the back of the class, and not drop the two buckets. Somehow, Lloyd managed to fall asleep STANDING UP, which caused Raine on throw an eraser at Lloyd's forehead.

About a minute after that, though, a bright light suddenly engulfed the classroom, temporarily blinding everyone.

"Settle down." Raine silenced the class, "It appears that the time for the Oracle has come. I'll go and check on the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own, understood?" As she turned for the door, she then looked at me and said: "Colette, if it is the Oracle, the priests will come here for you. And Luke, whatever you do, don't let Colette out of you sight."

"Yes, ma'am." Colette responded.

I nodded, and she left.

I sat back in my chair and put my hands behind my head, and watched amusedly as Lloyd tried to sneak out of class, but was stopped by Genis. After having a small discussion that left Genis mad, Lloyd turned to Colette and called out to her, and then for some reason, they all tried to sneak out of class. I got out of my seat and walked over to them. "And just where are you three going?" I asked with mock annoyance. I jumped and turned around, with looks of horror and guilt on their faces.

"Um, well, Luke…" Lloyd began.

"Hey, I trust you guys to take care of yourselves, but Raine told me to keep an eye on Colette, so if she's going with you guys, then I have to go along with you, alright?"

Lloyd then perked up and grinned, "Alright! Thanks Luke!"

Colette smiled happily, and Genis muttered "I just hope Raine doesn't kill us for this."

Then we headed out.

(Lloyd, Colette, and Genis joined the party!)

_Skit: Clumsy Colette_

_Luke (Confused): Hey guys, what was that hole in the wall near the entrance of the classroom?_

_Colette (Flustered): Um, well…_

_Genis (Cheerful): Colette tripped into the wall while moping the floor last spring. We never got around to fixing that hole._

_Colette (Embarrassed): I'm sorry, I'm just incredibly clumsy, that's all. _

_Luke (Normal): Hey, it can't be that ba- (Colette [surprised] moves closer to Luke quickly, bumping sound effect heard) Whoa!_

_Colette (Flustered): I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry!_

_Luke (Tired): I spoke too soon._

_Genis (Grinning): Yup._

_(End Skit)_

As we walked out of the schoolhouse, it was surprisingly empty out. Almost no one was outside.

"Hey, where is everyone?" Lloyd asked.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Lloyd." I said.

Then, a voice called out to us. It was Frank, Colette's father, who I had gotten to know when escorting her around. He came running up to us, and was out of breath when he got close.

"Father!" Colette said worried.

"Frank!" Genis and I said at the same time.

"*pant* Thank Martel you're *pant* safe." Frank said tiredly.

"What happen to everyone, Frank?" I asked.

Catching his breath, Frank responded: "They're all hiding. The Desians passed through the village a short while ago. No one was hurt, thankfully, but the Desians are heading to the temple!"

"What! But Iselia had a non-aggression treaty with the Desians!" Genis cried out.

Suddenly, I realized something: Raine was at the temple, and the Desians were heading now!

"Wait, Raine! Raine's in trouble!" I shouted.

"What are you talk-?!" Genis begun before realizing what I meant.

"Wait, what's wrong? Lloyd asked.

"Lloyd, you moron! Raine's at the temple! The Desians are heading there! We need to help her!" Genis shouted at Lloyd.

"Grandmother's also there preparing for the ritual!" Colette shouted frantically.

"Let's get moving." I said. Then I said to Frank: "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to Colette."

"I know. I trust you Luke. Bring my little girl back safely." Frank said with a serious look on his face.

As we left the village, we were stopped by a zombie blocking our path. Angry that something was getting in our way, I quickly drew The Key of Lorelei and shouted at the zombie "Get out of our way!" Before the others could say anything, I rushed towards the zombie and cut it clean in half with a horizontal slash. After picking up some of the gald it dropped, I turned to the others and said "Let's go." The others quickly nodded, and we were off.

_Skit: Raine in Trouble_

_Lloyd (Angry): C'mon! We gotta hurry to the temple!_

_Genis (Angry): If those Desians lay ONE hand on her…_

_Luke (Serious): Guys, let's try to avoid the monsters if we can. We don't need any distractions or delays. _

_Lloyd, Genis (Angry) and Colette (Worried): Right!_

_Lloyd and Genis exit_

_Colette (Worried): …I hope grandmother is okay. I don't want her to die because of me._

_Luke (Serious): Don't worry, Colette. She'll be fine. Now come on, we need to get moving._

_Colette (Worried): Alright._

_End Skit_

Since I already knew the way to the temple after escorting Colette there so many times, we arrived at The Temple of Martel in record time (Not counting all the times Colette tripped due to us rushing to the temple). We stopped at the bottom of the stairs to catch our breath, and stared at the bright light emanating from the top of the dome roof.

"Whoa, that light really is coming from the temple!" Lloyd said in awe.

"The Oracle is here. Colette's going to be the Chosen of Regeneration." Genis added.

"It's really, really bright!" Colette said, giving her opinion.

After sweat dropping/face palming at Colette's cluelessness, I said "Guys, let's stay focused. If the Desians really are here, then we're going to have to do some fighting." I reminded them.

"Right!" They all said in unison.

After that though, we heard what sounded like a fight going on near the front entrance of the temple. A priest who I assumed worked at the Temple then staggered down to us, clutching a wound on his chest. He then collapsed when he got to us. I caught him before he hit the ground and laid him on his back. The three of us then bent down on our knees, and I head his head in my hand.

"Pastor!" Colette cried.

"Hey, are you alright?!" Lloyd asked.

"What happened?" I inquired.

"The Desians, ugh, broke the… non-aggression treaty… mph, a-and attacked the temple… uggghh." He then looked to Colette, "Chosen one… quickly… the oracle…"

"I know." Colette said reassuringly.

"Please… ugh, be careful."

"Don't worry, were going to…" I began.

"No… I'm going to die anyway. My only regret is that I… will not be… able to… pro… tect… the Cho… sen…" Those were his final words before death.

"Hey! Stay in there! Hold on man, were gonna get you some help!" I began shouting.

"It's no good. He's… gone." Lloyd said sadly.

"No!" Genis and I shouted at the same time.

"…After Colette receives the Oracle, we should bury him. He deserved it. …Lloyd, help me get him out of the way."

After me and Lloyd moved the body out of the way of the stairs, Colette stared up at the temple, and said simply, "…I'm going." and started walking up the stairs. I unsheathed The Key of Lorelei and followed her up the stairs.

"Guys, wait, there're Desians up there!" Genis called out after us.

Me and Colette stopped, turned around, and I said: "So what? If there are, we'll just beat 'em down!" I then turned around again, but kept my head looking at Lloyd and Genis. "I don't want anyone to continue to sacrifice themselves for Colette's sake. We're going up to the Oracle. If you don't want to go, go back to town. I'll tell Raine that neither of you left class." I turned my head too Colette and asked: "Ready?"

Colette nodded and we both continued up the stairs. Then, Lloyd shouted: "Hey, wait up! We're going with you!"

Colette turned around while I stood still, and asked: "Are you sure? It's dangerous."

"Dwarven Vow #1: Let's work together for a peaceful world." Lloyd responded confidently as he and Genis walked up to us.

I smiled, and thought to myself: _"Never abandoning someone in need, always sticking by their friends. Lloyd and Guy have a lot more in common than I thought."_

"I'm worried about Raine, so can we please get moving?" Genis asked worriedly.

After mentally kicking myself for forgetting the main reason I rushed out to the temple, I said in a confident voice: "Alright, let's go!"

"Thank you, both of you." Colette said to her two friends.

**Annnnnd, that all, folks. Okay, NEXT chapter will have some action, I promise! I was going to have the fight scene at the temple be included in this chapter, but with it the chapter would have been WAY too long, so I split the chapter into two parts. On the bright side, this means next chapter won't take as long to write! Anyways, feel free to write a review! I always appreciate it!**

**(1): Anyone who's seen Sanity Not Included knows the reference I was trying not to make.**

**(2): Did I get this piece of Mithos's 'official' Sylvarant history right? Cause I don't want Lorelei to spoil a certain something.**


	6. Battle for Martel Temple!

**(A/N): Alright, I just copy and pasted this chap. onto another page and edited it. Now, here's the fight that should have been in last chapter. Enjoy!**

**Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Symphonia are both copyright Namco Bandai.**

**Chapter 6: Battle for Martel Temple!**

When we got to the top, we saw a tall man with dark brown, spiked hair, fat pointed ears, and some weird grey armor/robe thing with about four or five soldiers in black and red armor and metal helms covering their eyes and top head corner Phaidra next to the entrance.

"Where is the Chosen?" The leader asked in a commanding voice.

Phaidra then looked to the side to her and saw us at the stairway. "Luke! Get Colette away from here!"

The soldiers turned around, and one of them said: "Lord Botta, there she is!"

The 'Lord Botta' guy turned around and sneered at Colette. "Chosen One, your life is mine."

My blood was boiling, and without thinking, I shouted at the Desians: "Who the hell do you think you are!?" The Desians all turned their heads to me. I'm not sure if it was out of surprise, though. "What the hell makes you think that you'll get away with this?!"

Lloyd then walked up beside me, and unsheathed one of his wooden swords. "Yeah! I won't let you Desians get away with this!" He said bitterly.

"Desians? …Hahaha!" One of the soldiers laughed. I grabbed the Key of Lorelei's grip with both hands and bent down into an attack position, the tip of the blade between my eyes. "Well then, prepare to die at the hands of the Desians you hate so much! Let's get 'em!" Then all the soldiers charged at us.

Lloyd and I sprang forward, each of us taking a Desian with a whip. Colette attacked some other Desians at long range with her chakrams, while Genis backed us up with some water and fire magic. As I fought the Desians, I started to feel so… nostalgic. It's was like I was fighting some Oracle Knights back at Aulderant. I quickly cast aside this feeling and focused at the battle at hand.

I back stepped to avoid the Desian's whip, then counterattacked with a quick upwards slash to his torso. I then followed up with one of my favorite combos to use, Rending Thrust followed by Light Spear Cannon. While the Desian was stunned, I ran around him and smacked the base of his neck with the butt of The Key of Lorelei. He was knocked out instantly. I then surveyed the battlefield, and saw a Desian similar to the one I had just defeated trying to seek up on Genis!

"Demon Fist!" I shouted, launching a white shockwave towards him. The Desian was stunned for a second, enough time for me to run up to him and knock him out with Havoc Strike. I then got out of the way just in time for Genis to cast Fireball, sending it at a Desian that Colette was fighting. He was burned to a crisp. My eyes widened for a bit, but I shook off the shock and ran over to help Lloyd finish off the remaining soldier.

"Demon Fist!" The shockwave knocked back the Desian, then Lloyd quickly released his own shockwave to finish off the soldier.

"I lost to a bunch of KIDS?!" The Desian screamed his last words.

"You picked the wrong people to mess with." Lloyd taunted. But, I couldn't help but feel sorry for taking his life away. I stared at the corpses of the soldiers, and muttered to myself: "I'll do whatever it takes."

I didn't have time to feel sorry, as then a BIG Desian came forward. He held a spiked ball and chain in one hand, a big hammer in the other, and had a large sword on his back. "Do not get on our way!" He shouted.

We all then sprang into battle yet again. Lloyd and I kept our distance, using him using Demon Fang and me using Demon Fist and occasionally moving in to attack. The Big Desian's midriff was exposed, so we took advantage of it. Colette used her chakrams and Genis casted Fireball and Aqua Edge to keep the big Desian at bay. It was a decent strategy, until…

"Enough of this! Die!" The big Desian launched his spiked ball where Colette and Genis were. Genis pushed Colette away just time, and the spiked ball barely missed the two.

Lloyd then looked like he had an idea: "Hey, I just thought of something!" He then ran up to the big Desian and stabbed at his exposed midriff. "Sonic Thrust!" He shouted as he copied the arte I had used so many times. His attack seemed to work, as the big Desian started to bleed. "Damn, I must be a genius!" Lloyd said confidently as he turned around and ran back to me. But then, something happened.

"Lloyd, look out!" I shouted, but it was too late, as the big Desian swung his hammer and smacked Lloyd in the back. Lloyd flew towards me, and landed right in front of my feet.

"Lloyd!" Colette and Genis shouted simultaneously, running over to us. The big Desian then began to walk over to us. I jumped out in front and held the Key of Lorelei in the same position I had before the Desian soldiers attacked.

"Alright buddy; it's just you and me now." I spat. The big Desian started to swing his ball and chain above his head. I was getting ready to dodge when I heard an unfamiliar voice: "Demon Fang!" It wasn't Lloyd's voice. Whoever used it, though, was pretty tough, considering my knocked the big Desian right of his feet.

I glanced to the stairway and saw a strange man with spiky auburn hair dressed in purple body armor and pants, light purple boots, light purple fingerless gloves, two light purple belts across his waist, and a purple cape. He also carried a sword with a yellow hilt and round wooden shield. The strange man just walked up to me, not saying a word. He then looked at me as the big Desian started to get up, and said to me: "You seen to be the best fighter here." He said nonchalantly, "If you're going to help, do it now. Otherwise, get out of the way."

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, looking at him.

"I'll answer that later. For now let's focus on this one." The strange man replied.

The big Desian began to get up, and was on his knees when the strange man suddenly stabbed at his midriff. "Sonic Thrust!" He shouted as the midriff of the big Desian was cut open, while the strange man appeared on the other side of the desian. I then ran at the big Desian, charged up some mana in the palm of my hand, and thrust it forward.

"Get out of here! Raging Blast!" I shouted, the impact of Raging Blast knocking the big Desian into a wall. "Hah! Get out my face!" I said. The big Desian groaned before his life left him. Suddenly I felt really guilty.

"Damn, I didn't expect you to show up!" Lord Botta said to no one in particular. Now that I think of it, I completely forgot about him. "Everyone! Retreat for now!" And with that, whatever Desians we didn't see or fight left with Botta.

"Amazing!" Colette said in awe.

"This guy's tough!" Genis said in agreement.

"…Y…yeah, I guess. Luke's tougher if you ask me." Lloyd muttered. I smiled at that. It was nice to know that someone actually looked up to me.

"Is everyone alright?" The strange man asked. When he said that, something on his hand blinked.

"I… is that an exsphere?" Lloyd stuttered.

_"__Exsphere?" _I thought. I'll ask Lorelei about it later.

"Yes." Phaidra stepped forward, thankfully unhurt, "Thank you for helping us protect the Chosen One."

"Ah, so one of these children is the Chosen of Regeneration?" The strange man questioned.

"Yes, sir." Colette stepped forward and bowed, "I'm Colette Brunel, the Chosen of Regeneration." Colette then perked up, "Oh, that's right! I need to go and receive the Oracle!" She then looked at Phaidra, "Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trial now."

"Trial?" Lloyd asked.

"Monsters, I assume. Cruxis and Martel are probably testing Colette to see if she's fit to save the world." The strange man answered.

"Yes, that is correct. The Chosen must receive judgment from heaven before accepting the Oracle." Phaidra said, "But the most of the priests that are to accompany her were slaughtered by the Desians, and all the ones that weren't killed are all badly wounded." Phaidra then looked at me, "So Luke, could you accompany Colette and make sure she receives the Oracle?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem." I replied, putting my hands behind my head.

"You're going to leave the fate of the Chosen in the hands of an eighteen year old boy?" The strange man replied in stoic confusion.

"I'm sorry, but…" Phaidra was about to answer, but I cut her off.

"Hey, if this Oracle event is that important, wouldn't extra protection help? Besides, I'm fine with it, but… are you fine with it, Colette?" I asked her.

"Sure, it's not a problem." replied Colette with a bit of… uneasiness, to say the least.

"Hey, Phaidra, can I come to? I'm feeling fine after that battle, so I won't slow you guys down." Lloyd asked with hope in his eyes.

"Lloyd? I'm not sure. I'm still uneasy after seeing you take that hit. At the very least, talk to Raine inside before you fight anything." So Raine is safe. That's good to know.

The strange man stared at Lloyd before asking him: "Your name is Lloyd?"

Lloyd responded with: "Yeah, but who are you to ask my name?" Smooth, Lloyd. REAAAL smooth.

"…*sigh* I am Kratos, a mercenary. If it is fine with you, and if I get paid, I'll accept the task of guarding the Chosen with… Luke, was it?" I nodded.

"I guess Luke has a point about extra security. Please be of service. We'll discuss your payment after Colette receives the Oracle." Phaidra said in a beaten voice.

"It's a deal, then." Kratos said, nodding.

Lloyd then walked up to Kratos, "Wait, so am I going too?"

"No, Lloyd. You'll only get in the way. Get your back looked at and stay here." Kratos commanded.

"What did you say?"

"Did I not make myself clear?" Kratos said in a threatening voice, "You'll just be a burden. Go home."

Colette then walked up to Kratos and asked him: "…Um, Mr. Kratos? Could you please let Lloyd come with us?"

"But…" Kratos tries to convince her otherwise.

"Please, I'll feel more comfortable with him around. Please?"

"…Fine. Do as you wish. Luke, are you ready?"

"Yeah." I said.

"Then let's go." Kratos said as we (Me, Kratos, and Colette) started to walk into the temple.

"Alright! C'mon, Genis! Lloyd said enthusiastically.

"What?! I'm going to?!" Genis said in surprise.

"Of course!" Lloyd said.

"Remember, this isn't a field trip." Kratos called out to them as we entered the temple

(Kratos joined the party!)

0o0o0o0o0

As the five of us walked inside, we immediately saw a bunch of wounded priests sitting on the floor, with Raine tending to their wounds with healing magic. "Oh healing power, First Aid!" she chanted as she casted. I felt I hint of nostalgia when I heard this, remembering all the times I heard Tear cast that spell.

After attending to that last priest, Raine looked up and saw us. Upon seeing us, she immediately got up and walked over to us, a stern look on her face.

"Lloyd! Genis! What are you two doing out of class?"

I look of utter terror appeared on the aforementioned two's faces, and they immediately started to splutter excuses at her. I decided to step in.

"Sorry, Raine. Lloyd, Genis, and Colette were all trying to sneak out of class. Since you told me to never let Colette out of my sight, I had to go with them."

"Well, at least you made sure they were okay, Luke." Raine said with a look of relief on her face. Then she looked at Kratos, "…And you are?"

"Kratos, a mercenary. The Chosen's grandmother had hired me to help protect on her way to the Oracle, and later, The Journey of Regeneration." Kratos replied as stoic as ever.

"Well then, guess that's three of us protecting Colette. I'm going with Colette as a healer." Raine said, "Anyways, since Colette is going to receive the Oracle, would it be too much for me to join you?" Raine said this with an almost child-like smile on her face.

"A healer would be useful, so it wouldn't be a burden." Kratos replied.

"No problem." I said.

"Then let's go." Raine said, the child-like smile never leaving her face.

(Raine joined the party!)

Skit: Are you okay?

Genis (Worried): Hey Sis, you weren't hurt during the attack, were you?

Raine: Nothing life threatening, I assure you. I did help fight some of them off with some magic, and after they retreated, I help heal the wounded.

Genis (Relieved): Whew, that's good. I was worried you had been hurt.

Luke: Yeah, when we heard the Desians were heading towards the temple, we rushed there to see if you were okay.

Raine: Thank you for your concern. I will try not to make you worry in the Journey of Regeneration.

End Skit

**(A/N): And that's Chapter 6! Next time, the Oracle! By the way, do you guys like it if I change up the events a LITTLE bit (Such the scene where Raine tends to the wounded?), or do you want me to stick to the main plot, but with Luke thrown in, obviously. Anyways, as always, feel free to review!**

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	7. The Trial of the Oracle

**(A/N): …Yeeeeahhhh, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Well, in all honesty, a number of things caused this to be delayed, but I think the main reason that I haven't worked on this in a while is because due to technical issues, the entire file for this chapter was deleted, and now I had to start over from scratch, and that kind of dis-motivated me. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned this project, if I do, I'd announce it.**

**Now without any further ado, here's what you've all been waiting for: Symphonic Abyss Chapter &!**

**Tales of the Abyss and Tales of Symphonia belong to Namco-Bandai.**

Afterwards, the six of us walked a few feet until we reached a three-way fork in the temple, with two different routes leading down two different hallways, while the third route in the middle lead upstairs.

"Well, where to next?" Genis asked.

I looked at Colette, "Colette, you know this place better than the rest of us combined. Where do we have to go?"

Colette looked down at her feet, "Well, um, I'm sorry. The temple seems… different than usual. I'm a bit unsure right now."

"I guess that means we'll just have to walk around this place and find out." I said with a shrug.

"I sense monsters around. Stay on your guard, everyone." Kratos said unexpectedly. Seriously, how the hell can he even tell there were monsters around?

"Heh, no worries. We can handle a few easy monsters." Lloyd then said confidently.

"Wait. Lloyd, you are self taught in swordplay, correct?" Kratos asked Lloyd.

"Yeah. Why?" Lloyd asked back. Kratos said nothing as he walked towards Lloyd and handed him a book. Lloyd looked down at the book, "What is this thing?"

"If you want to become a swordsman, then at least learn the basics." Kratos said with a mildly harsh tone. He then walked ahead a little, probably to see where the best way to go next was.

"Hmph! He thinks he knows everything, does he?!" Lloyd huffed.

I flinched when he said this. It reminded me back when I was still a spoiled brat and was a complete jerk to everyone.

_(Begin Flashback)_

_"My, my, Luke. You're rather confident in yourself. Did your master teach you nothing but brute force?"_

_"Whatever. Who cares about this stuff anyway? Besides, Master Van never taught me this stuff because I don't NEED it!"_

_"Ugh, idiot."_

_(End flashback)_

I decided to play mentor to Lloyd, "Lloyd, you should probably listen to him and read that. And don't ever say something like that again! That kind of attitude will get you killed." I said, _"Trust me, I know from experience. Well, except for the dying part."_

Lloyd looked ready to speak up, but Raine then said, "Luke's right, Lloyd. You will never become a master in anything unless you put your mind to it. It would also do well if you applied that same kind of mindset to your schoolwork." I saw Lloyd flinch at that last part. From what I've gathered, Lloyd isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Genis grin.

"Now, Colette," Raine said as she turned to Colette, "Do you have an idea of where we should start looking?"

"Hmm, well," Colette then perked up, as if remembering something. I could see a candle lighting up over her head, "Oh right! We need to get the Sorcerer's Ring from an altar in the temple, then use it to open a door leading to where the Oracle's room is!"

_"Wait, Sorcerer's Ring?!" _I thought. _"I'll ask Lorelei about it later."_

"Okay, so where's the altar, then?" Genis piped up.

Colette looked down at her feet, "Um… sorry. I forgot."

Raine then smiled a creepy smile, "Then I guess we'll have to go look for it, then."

"Ah, really? What a pain." Lloyd sighed.

With that, we went down the right pathway, eventually reaching to a staircase that underground. Going down the staircase, we found ourselves on a strange glass platform suspended in the air. Looking down, the ground below us was covered in a faint mist. There were some large square holes in the platform, for some reason. I could see that some parts of the ground were deeper than others, and that the deeper parts looked deep enough that you would have a hard time getting out if you were by yourself.

"Hey, what that over there?" I heard Lloyd asked. Turning around, I saw everyone else walking towards the northern part of the platform. Following them, I saw an altar that was on the same level as the glass we were standing on, but the altar had a stairway leading down from the floor below us. On the altar, I could see a small, bright light floating a few inches of the altar itself.

"AMAZING!" Raine suddenly shouted, "So that's the Sorcerer's Ring?! We must simply get a closer look at it!" I stood there, looking at her in surprise. Lloyd was doing the same thing as I, but Genis just face-palmed and sighed. I couldn't tell what Kratos was thinking.

Then I realized something: Colette wasn't there! But before I could speak up, I heard the girl's voice: "Look, what's this thing?" We all turned around and saw Colette pointing at a golen, which thankfully had its back turned to her.

"Colette!" I shouted.

"Look out!" Kratos shouted as he dashed at the golem, drawing his sword. Lloyd and I quickly followed suit, while Genis and Raine got their weapons out.

"Sonic Thrust!" Kratos shouted as he stabbed at the golem.

"Demon Fang!" Lloyd called out as he released his shockwave.

"Slag Assault!" I shouted, striking the ground at the golem's feet, knocking it over.

"I'll finish this!" Genis called out, before bouncing the ball on his kendama: "Take this! Fireball!" He shouted as two fireballs launched towards the golem.

The golem was dead before it even knew what hit it. But instead of being destroyed, it simply turned into…

"Whoah! It transformed into a block!" Colette yelped in surprised.

"Fascinating…" Raine began.

…a large block, with handles indented into its sides.

"Right, it's now a stone." I deadpanned, "So what do we do with it, build a bridge or something?" I asked sarcastically. But as I finished that sentence, (as if in answer to my question) Colette tripped face-first into the block, sending it careening through one of the holes in the platform. The block then filled up on the deep gaps in the lower floor, creating a makeshift bridge. Everyone except Lloyd and Colette then saw what we were supposed to do.

"Hey, I get it." Genis smiled.

"I see." Kratos said stoically.

"Well, that answers that question." I shrugged.

"So that's how we're supposed to solve this." Raine said, putting her hand to her chin.

"What? What do we do?" Lloyd asked impatiently.

"Patience, Lloyd." Raine assured Lloyd, "Now, if my hypothesis is correct- Ah! There it is!" At that moment, another golem looking exactly like the one we had just… killed(?) appeared out of nowhere.

"Woah! There's another one!" I said in surprise.

"Oh, now I get it!" Lloyd said as he hit his fist into an outstretched palm. The plan was to defeat a golem, then use its block form to construct a path to the altar. Rinse and repeat.

"Let's get moving!" I said with a grin. Within a few minutes, we had defeated a few more golems without any problems and soon made our way to the altar that housed the Sorcerer's Ring. When we got to the start of the stairway that led up to the altar, though, Raine suddenly darted ahead, screaming in joy.

"Hey, Raine!" I called after her.

"Don't even bother, Luke. It'll probably be for your own good." Genis said to me.

"What do you mean? Is she always like this around temples?" Lloyd asked.

"*Sigh*, I'll explain later." Genis said to both of us. We then followed Raine up to the altar. When we got up there, we saw Raine darting around the area around the altar, shouting some words occasionally.

"GLORIOUS! MAGNIFICANT! The architecture! The material! The design! It's shape, its smell! It's all amazing!" At this, Raine plopped down on the floor and began RUBBING HER FACE AGAINST IT! Yeah, in all honesty, I was completely scared out of my mind. Now I knew how Guy felt around women.

"Um… Professor?" Colette asked. Raine immediately jumped to her feet and went up to Colette in a flash.

"Colette! Perfect timing! Would you be so kind as to procure the Sorcerer's Ring for us? It appears to have a special security mechanism that protects it from being picked up by anyone except the Chosen. It's marvelous! The fact that they were able to…" I blocked out Raine's rambling and asked Colette:

"So can you get the Ring for us?"

"I'll try." She said with a nod.

Walking past the still-rambling Raine, Colette went up to the altar and just grabbed the Sorcerer's Ring, and walked back. When she got back, Colette held out the Ring for all of us to see. All of us gazed at it, until Lloyd asked: "Wow, Colette! Can I try it?"

Before Colette could even speak, Kratos spoke up: "You would really trust a valuable holy artifact crucial to saving the world to him? What if he loses it? What if he breaks it?" He said as he stared down at Colette. I kind of agreed with him; I wouldn't have given something like a Sorcerer's Ring away to anybody. However, this got Lloyd riled up.

"Hey! I'm not a little kid, you know! It can handle it!" Lloyd said, crossing his arms.

"Its fine, Mr. Kratos. Here, Lloyd." Colette then gave the Sorcerer's Ring to Lloyd, who immediately put it on his right ring finger.

"Cool! How does it work?" Lloyd asked excitedly.

"Um… sorry, I don't really know." Colette answered with an uneasy smile.

"What? Didn't the priests here teach you?" I responded in surprise.

"Well, I do remember something about…" Colette paused as she tried to think, "…charging up your inner mana into the ring and firing out a burst of condensed mana, but I'm really not too sure about what that means." She then looked at Raine, who seemed to be calming down a little bit, "Do you know anything about doing something like that, Professor?"

"Well…" Raine began, but then we heard a startled yelp coming some Lloyd turning towards him, we all saw Lloyd dancing around like he had to go to the bathroom, but not really, because Lloyd had somehow set his boots on fire (1). Kratos face-palmed, Genis laughed, Colette gasped, Raine squeed in excitement, and I called out to him in worry.

"Woah, Lloyd! Are you alright?" I cried out, concerned for him.

"Lloyd! How did you get that to work?!" Rained asked excitedly.

"Come on, guys! Put the fire out already!" Lloyd shouted frantically.

After Genis put Lloyd's boots out using some water magic, and Raine smacking him upside the head for being so careless, we all agreed to let Lloyd keep the Sorcerer's Ring for the rest of the time we were in Martel Temple, since he was the only one who knew how to really use it. Afterwards, we made our way back towards the main entrance.

_Skit: Ruin Mode_

_Luke (Confused): So Genis, is Raine always like how she was down there around temples?_

_Genis (Embarrassed): Not only in temples. Any type of old buildings, be it ruins, temples, heck, even entire cities! If it's in ruins, Raine will go into Ruin Mode. *Sigh* Man, and I REALLY didn't want you guys to see her like this. It's so embarrassing!_

_Luke (Confused): Will she calm down when we leave the temple? _

_Genis: Yeah, she usually does. Though I'm not too sure Sis would be all to keen on that idea._

_Luke (Thinking, in mind): Man, even Guy wasn't this bad with Fon technology. At least he had the decency to calm down and explain everything to us normally._

_End Skit_

As we got to the main entrance, we then made our way down the middle pathway, where a huge door blocked by an electrical force field stood in our way.

"Lloyd, will you do the honors?" I asked.

"Sure thing!" Lloyd said as he fired a fireball at the force field. As soon as the fireball connected with the force field, the force field disappeared and the door automatically opened. With an excited comment from Raine on how marvelous this mechanism was (And I did have to agree with her there), we went through the doorway and saw a bright blue circle at the end of a short hallway.

"So do we go through there?" I asked.

"Well, there's no real other place to go." Genis put in.

"Excuse me, Luke. I would like to investigate that." Raine asked. I got out of her way, and Raine then proceeded to walk on the circle, and instantly disappeared.

"Raine!" Genis called out in shock, and tried to follow after her. I grabbed the collar of Genis' shirt and said, "Don't worry; she was just teleported to another place in this temple. Unless whoever built this thing decided to be a jerk, we should end up in the same area as Raine did." I reassured Genis.

"He's right." Kratos agreed with me. "Let's not waste any more time. Let's go."

We then walked on the teleporter and in an instant, we were in a room that felt like it was higher above the floor we were just on. Thankfully, Raine was just before us, unhurt. After that 'reuniting', we began to look around at the circular room we were in.

"This appears to be the top floor." Kratos observed.

"Yes. This is the altar. The Oracle should be here." Colette responded. We all then looked to where Colette was. She was standing in front of an altar. The altar's top was glowing orange, like a flame. There was a small, shining orange orb in the middle of the altar.

"So that shining thing in the middle must be the Cruxis Crystal." Lloyd observed.

"That's right. According to my grandmother, I was born holding it in my hand. That's what signified that I was the Chosen." Colette informed us.

_"Great. More things to ask Lorelei later." _I thought.

**_"I'm right here, you know (2)."_** Lorelei chimed in.

"Woah! Look at that light?" Genis said in awe.

"Incredible!" Raine voiced her opinion.

Looking up, I saw a bright light coming down from the blue domed ceiling. A yellow orb floated down from the light, and soon transformed in bright flash into an angel! The angel wore green robes of all shades, white boots with a greenish tint, and a green hat with gold linings was atop his blonde hair. In all honesty, he wouldn't have looked all that out of place in Daath, except for a pair of white, feathery wings coming out of his back.

Opening his blue eyes, the angel stared down at us, as if sizing us up.

"What, what is that?!" Lloyd said in shock.

"It looks like an angel. Wow…" I said in awe. I'd never in my entire life had thought I'd ever seen an angel! I thought they were just myth!

"So, is this Colette's actual father?" Raine asked. I glanced over at her, then Colette in shock.

"Real… father?" I repeated.

Colette then walked up to the angel and looked at him. Then, the angel began to speak.

"I… am Remiel, an angel of Cruxis. I have been sent to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the seventh chosen." Remiel then floated downwards to the altar, while the Cruxis Crystal floated up to him until it reached his heart area. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel from her slumber at the center of the earth, and purify the world of Sylvarant."

"Awaken the Goddess Martel. This is just like the legend, huh Raine?" Genis asked his sister.

"Indeed." Raine smiled.

The Cruxis Crytal then began to slowly float towards Colette, who held out her palms in order to catch it. She really didn't have to, as the crystal just floated at her chest area. Then, in a flash of light, a red gem in a golden crest appeared at Colette's chest like a pendant.

"From this day onwards, Colette is the Chosen of Regeneration." Remiel continued, "Cruxis has now blessed this event, and shall now bestow upon the world The Tower of Salvation." When he said this, a felt a gigantic earthquake began to shake the temple.

"W-woah! What's going on?!" I asked as I tripped in the quake.

"The Tower of Salvation has been summoned to Sylvarant!" I heard Colette call out. And with that the rumbling suddenly stopped.

Then I heard Lloyd call out: "Hey guys look!" The five of us scrambled to the nearby window Lloyd was standing at. Outside, I gasped. An impossibly tall tower had appeared out of thin air! It's reach seemed to reach out to the edge of the planet!

"Colette," Remiel called out. We all then made our way back to the altar, where Remiel continued, "Unlock the seals that protect the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs into heaven. Then the world will be saved."

_"And I can get back home." _I thought happily.

**_"…"_**

"I humbly accept this asked that has been asked of me." Colette said with a bow.

"Very well. We of Cruxis shall lend you our strength little by little as you unlock the seals of the world." Remiel said very pleased, "Once you have been fully reformed as an angel, and have climbed to the peak of the Tower of Salvation, this corrupted world shall once again be regenerated."

**_"…"_**

"I swear upon my life that I will regenerate this world." Colette responded.

"Good. First, you shall head south, to Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers at the altar there and you shall be granted more powers of Cruxis."

"Of course, Lord Remiel." Cruxis said solemnly. As Remiel began to float back up, Colette suddenly called him back. "Oh! Please, wait!" Remiel didn't answer, and continued to rise, "I have a question I need to ask of you. Are you… my real father?" Colette asked hopefully.

"First, you will head to the Seal of Fire. Understood? I will see you again there, my beloved daughter." Remiel said.

"Wha- wait! Father…" But Remiel just continued to rise, but before he left for good, we said his final words: "Do not worry, Colette. I shall see you again at the Seal of Fire." And with that, Remiel disappeared by fading away until he was gone.

Standing there in shock, I had to have Lloyd snap me out of my trance when he said, "Hey Luke, are you okay?"

Recovering from my surprise, I answered: "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… wow. Seeing an angel is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm amazed that I was able to see one." I said truthfully. "_Boy, I'm sure Natalia would be so jealous to…" _I then felt a sting of pain, remembering about my old friends. I shook it off before saying: "But yeah. This is the start of a whole adventure. I wonder what we'll have to face next."

"Yeah." Lloyd agreed. Lloyd then walked away to go talk to Genis and Colette. Kratos then spoke up:

"The Chosen has received the Oracle. We're done here."

"Oh, right…" Colette said, looking down.

"I'll go on ahead. Luke, stay here with the Chosen" Kratos said. I nodded before he walked onto the teleporter and vanished in an instant.I then turned to Colette.

"Colette, do you want to go? Or do you want to stay here a bit more?" I asked nicely.

"It's okay, let's go home." Colette then turned to Lloyd and Genis, "Thank you, both of you. Can you guys meet me at my house later?"

"Yeah." Lloyd said.

"No problem." Genis agreed.

I then looked at Raine, "Raine, are you coming with us?"

Raine looked at me before answering: "I apologize, Luke, but I'll stay here for a while. I need to check how the wounded priests are doing."

"You just want to study the temple more, don't you?" Genis muttered. Raine awarded him with a smack upside the head.

"Genis, human life to me is more important than some ruins. That is not only an insult to me, it is also an insult to the priests wounded or killed when the Desians attacked the temple. Don't ever let me hear you say something like that again." Raine said harshly. She then turned to me, "Luke, don't worry about me. I should be back before nightfall."

"Alright. Let's go, guys." I said while walking towards the teleporter.

And with that, Lloyd, Colette, Genis, and I made our way back to Iselia. While we were walking back to Iselia, Lorelei sounded in my mind.

**_"Luke, I'm beginning to have some doubts about Cruxis."_**

_"Hm? What do you mean? You were the one to even suggest that we ask Cruxis if we could return to our world. Why the sudden change of motives?"_

**_"I'm not sure. For one thing, there aren't any records of exactly what happened when the Chosen becomes an angel. Not only that, but Remiel gave off an odd vibe about himself, as if he had secondary motives."_**

_"Well, I'm not giving up now! I'm still going through with this until the very end!"_

**_"I never said anything about giving up right now. What I'm saying is that I'm a bit suspicious about The Organization of Cruxis now."_**

_"Okaaaay."_ And with that conversation done with, the four of us continued to Iselia.

**(A/N): And there's Chapter 7! Man, was this a dozy to write! Oh well, I actually like this one better than what I had originally before all my files were deleted. Oh well, hope you enjoyed this!**

**1) I got this idea from another ToS fanfic I read, but unfortunately I don't remember the title. If you do, please, let me know!**

**2) In all honesty, I mainly put this in as an in-joke considering that Lorelei almost never speaks in these chapters, so it's easy to forget about him/her/it. Henceforth, this line**


	8. Preparation for Regeneration

**A/N: I got nothing to really say here, so one with the next Chapter!**

**Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss are copyrighted by Namco-Bandai**

The four of us made it back to Iselia without any real problems. As soon as we walked in, Colette spoke up to us: "Luke, we should go back to my house to tell the others about the successful Oracle."

I nodded. Looking at Lloyd and Genis, I told them: "So guys, can you two make it back to your houses by yourselves?"

Lloyd then got an annoyed look on his face. "Hey! Can't we come too?"

Genis sighed, "Lloyd, we'd probably get shooed out anyways. Why should we even bother?" Lloyd just ignored him and continued to pester me. Sighing, I decided to give Lloyd a compromise.

"*Sigh* Alright, fine, you two can come." Lloyd's face brightened up instantly upon hearing that while Genis just sighed pitifully. "On one condition." I added. Seeing Lloyd's face harden a bit, I then said: "Lloyd, give us the Sorcerer's Ring before we forget. It IS supposed to be used by Colette, after all."

Upon hearing that, Lloyd just smiled and gave Colette the Sorcerer's Ring without a question. After Colette put the ring on her finger, I turned towards the direction of Colette's house and said, "Alright, let's go (1)." And with that, the four of us walked to Colette's place.

When we walked through the door into Colette's house, we immediately saw Kratos, Phaidra, Frank, and the Mayor seated at the kitchen table. Phaidra, was the first to see us. "Ah, you're all back! Please, come and sit down!" After walking around for awhile, the seats looked like heaven, so we soon took our seats.

"Did any of you have trouble getting back to the village?" Kratos questioned us.

"Nothing we couldn't handle." I answered as I put my hands behind my head.

Lloyd then perked up, "Hey, were you guys talking about the Journey of Regeneration just now?" Thinking about it, I didn't hear what they were saying when we walked in.

"Yes." Phaidra smiled.

Lloyd grinned widely, "Awesome! I wanna go too! I wanna see Colette regenerate the world!"

"If Raine is going, then I'm going too." Genis chimed in.

At that, everyone except Lloyd and Genis's faces were pulled into a look of disapproval.

"No. Like I said back at the chapel, you two will just be a burden." Kratos said coldly.

Lloyd immediately got angry and defensive. "W-WHAT!?"

I decided to put in my thoughts as well, "I'm gonna put this as nice as I can, Lloyd. As much as we'd love you and Genis to come, you two are too inexperienced to come with us. Sorry, but that's the way things are." I said this as calmly as I could without trying to seem harsh like Kratos.

"The battles at the chapel are child's play compared to what the rest of the world has in store. Unless you would like to brutally die by the claws and fangs of a wild monster, stay at home." Kratos commanded.

"Sir Kratos(2) and Luke are completely right. Now then, we need to discuss business here. Why don't you two go home?" The Mayor outright ordered Lloyd and Genis.

The two didn't say anything else after that. Lloyd just pouted and Genis nodded, and then the two walked out of Colette's house. Colette then got a worried look on her face, then got up from her seat. "Please excuse me for a bit." She then hurried out the door, I guess to talk to Lloyd and Genis. I sighed, and put my hands in my lap. Colette wasn't outside for long, and soon returned to her seat. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to…"

"We understand, Colette." Frank said.

"Now, onto business." The Mayor announced, "Do you know when you'll be leaving, Chosen?" He asked Colette.

For some reason, I felt a bit angry after he said that. It was as if Colette was an object, not a human being. Under my breath, I muttered: "Colette." If anyone heard me, they didn't show it.

Colette looked down and closed her eyes, presumably to think about what she wanted to do. She soon gave us an answer, "…I want to leave early tomorrow."

"Wait, what!?" I blurted out. Seriously, I wasn't expecting that!

"I don't want Lloyd and Genis to worry about me when we leave. I want to leave when they aren't in the village." Colette explained. "Is that alright, Luke?" She asked me.

"W-well, I understand your reasoning…" I lied. Why wouldn't she want her only (as far as I know) two friends to see her off to save the world? "… I just wasn't expecting you to want to leave as early as tomorrow. Sorry for bursting out."

"Tomorrow isn't far away. Do you have the supplies needed for the journey prepared? And does Professor Sage know about this?"

"We do have all the necessary items ready, Sir Kratos." Frank responded, "And as for Raine, she has always been able to adapt to sudden changes such as this. She should be able to pack up easily."

"…If what you say is true, then I have no objections about leaving tomorrow." Kratos said.

"Good. I think that'll do for now; we've seemed to have made all necessary arrangements. We'll see you off tomorrow morning, Chosen." The Mayor said.

"Colette." I muttered again.

"Okay! See you tomorrow!" Colette said cheerfully as the Mayor and Kratos left.

"I'll be in the inn if anyone needs me." Kratos said before he left.

I got up out of my seat and left Colette's house after telling Frank and Phaidra about Raine. Before I left Colette's house, I heard Frank's voice: "Luke? Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" I asked.

"Since Colette is leaving early tomorrow, can you sleep at the inn tonight? It would be easier to leave earlier without waking Lloyd and Genis."

What he said made sense, so I agreed, "Yeah, I can do that. Just let me get my stuff and eat dinner at Dirk's first, okay?"

"Alright. See you first thing tomorrow, Luke."

"You too." I said as I left Colette's house finally. I then began to make my way to Dirk's house.

Getting to Dirk's house was a straight enough pathway that could be easily memorized, and I still had Lorelei to guide me if I still got lost somehow. Anyways, as I was walking, I saw a familiar kid in red clothes.

"Hey! Lloyd!" I called out. Lloyd jumped at the voice and turned around after drawing his swords, but then put them away after seeing it was me. I ran up to him and said: "Wow, you're slow! I thought you'd be at Dirk's by now."

Lloyd grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, well, Genis and I got uh… caught up in some things! Yeah…" He looked incredibly guilty about something. It was really obvious.

"…Alright, what did you two do?" I asked, folding my arms.

"W-well, we, ah, Genis and I, um…" Lloyd stuttered.

"In English(3), please?"

Lloyd sighed, "Okay, we went to visit a friend of Genis's."

"See? Was that so hard now?" I said in satisfaction about getting Lloyd to admit to something. Even though getting Lloyd to admit something wasn't really saying much.

"No. Can we go back now?" Lloyd asked.

"Sure."

We soon got back to Dirk's house after dealing with a few minor monsters occasionally (who still dropped gald upon death) and Noishe was there to greet us. After playing with him for awhile, Lloyd and I went inside.

"Dad! We're home!" Lloyd called out.

Dirk was in the kitchen, preparing some dinner, stew probably. "Ah, Luke, Lloyd! How're yah two doin'?"

Lloyd walked forward, "Hey Dad. I met someone who needs a key crest today."

"Key Crest?" I asked.

Lloyd ignored me, and continued on, "You said that an Exsphere without a Key Crest is bad for you, right? Or is it too late for her now?"

"Don't talk like I'm not here! What're you talking about Lloyd?" I asked again, this time with a bit of anger in my voice.

Lloyd then seemed to notice me, and apologized: "Oh, sorry Luke. You don't know about Exspheres?"

"What did I just say two seconds ago?" I deadpanned.

Dirk then spoke up: "Allow me tah explain Luke, if yah don't mind?" I nodded, and he continued, "Exspheres are a sorta power amplifier that can enhance the usa's fighting capabilities to their maximum potential. Dey are also very dangerous. An exsphere is also a parasite that can drain tha life of a user without propa protection. A Key Crest is one of these protections, and tha most common, as its design makes it so that the parasitic features of the exsphere cannot reach the user."

"So, couldn't someone just remove the exsphere without a Key Crest before the parasite takes control?" I asked.

"Yah can't. Even removing an exsphere is dangerous." Dirk said, and left it at that.

My eyes widened at this revelation. An exsphere did sound useful, but it sounded too much like a double-edged sword, and personally, I think I'm strong enough to not need one of those.

**_"A wise choice, Luke." _**Lorelei chimed in.

I then thought of something: "Hey Lloyd, how did your friend get an exsphere anyways?"

Lloyd then looked like a giant stampede of angry rappigs was charging at him, 'cause he got really nervous at that question. "W-well, you see…" Dirk then scowled, and a chill got sent down my spine.

_"Damn, Dirk looks scary when angry!"_

"You went to the human ranch, didn't you?" Dirk said in a threatening tone.

My eyes widened, _"Wait, what?!"_ Surely Lloyd wasn't THAT much of an idiot…

"Yeah, Genis and I went to see a prisoner there who he became friends with." Lloyd admitted.

"WHAT!" I shouted.

Dirk didn't say anything; he resorted to **punching Lloyd in the gut!**(4) "LLOYD! How many times 'ave I told yah to stay away from the Ranch?!" I looked away from the scene, and winced as Lloyd hit the floor clutching his stomach.

"I-I know, Dad, but… this person needs an exsphere!" Lloyd groaned.

"Did yah let tha Desians see yer Key Crest?" Dirk asked Lloyd while folding his arms.

After regaining his wind, Lloyd stood up, "No, I made sure about that. But why is it so important to hide that thing?"

"Wait, you have an exsphere, Lloyd?" I questioned.

Lloyd looked to Dirk, "I trust Luke, Lloyd. You can show it to 'im." Dirk confirmed. Lloyd then turned to me hand held out his left hand, in which the palm area was wrapped in a white bandage. Lloyd then ripped off the bandage, revealing a blue gem in a golden crest.

_"Lorelei, is, is that an exsphere?" _

**_"Yes. I believe Kratos also had one on him as well."_**

_"Huh? He did? I didn't notice it."_

"Woah…" Was all I could say at the sight of Lloyd's exsphere.

"Yeah, that's my exsphere." Lloyd said, "I've had it for as long as I could remember. So why's it so important, Dad?" He asked Dirk.

Dirk sighed, "Well, yah see, Lloyd yer exsphere is… special."

"Special? It's different than the ones the Desians use?" Lloyd asked.

"… That exsphere is your mother's keepsake." Dirk responded sadly. And with that, I shut off any functions related to talking, because I didn't want to interrupt this personal moment.

"The Desians killed yer mother fer that exsphere Lloyd." Dirk stopped to let the information sink in, and continued, "Remember how I found yah at the cliff near the ranch?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Yer mother was still conscious when I got there, and she explained it all. There's no doubt about it."

Lloyd just stared at Dirk in disbelief, before shouting at him: **"Why didn't you tell me all this sooner?!"**

"If I had, you'd would 'ave just gone out an' tried to take revenge on those Desians." Dirk then sighed, "A-and, I didn't want to lose yah, Lloyd. Even though we ain't related by blood, you're still my son, and I'. yer parent." Dirk looked down for a few moments before looking back up again, "Anywho, The Tower of Salvation has jus' appeared today. Leave the rest up to Colette. It'll take care of the Desians, as well."

"But still…" Lloyd began.

Dirk walked towards him and said: "Don't get involved with the Desians. Yer mother died tryin' to protect you and yer exsphere from 'em. Don't jus' go an' throw yer life and the exsphere away. After what she did."

"…So you'll make the Key Crest?" Lloyd asked after a long silence.

_"Really Lloyd?"_

"Didn't yah listen to anythin' I jus' said, Lloyd?!" Dirk snapped.

"Yeah, I heard you! But you can't just expect me to sit down and twiddle my thumbs now that I know!" Lloyd argued. I had to agree with him there. I could never look the other way when I saw someone in need of help.

Dirk responded to Lloyd's outburst by socking him in the stomach again. Lloyd fell to the floor, again, clutching his stomach, again. Lloyd couldn't say anything back to Dirk after a punch like that. It was then we heard a knock on the door. Dirk went to open it while I helped Lloyd get to his feet.

"Ah, no worries! Come in, make yerselves at home!" We heard Dirk's voice from the doorway. Me and Lloyd went to go see who was here, and to our surprise, it was Kratos, Colette, Raine and Genis. They walked, and all sat at the picnic table Dirk uses as a dinner table. Lloyd and I joined Colette on one end while Raine, Kratos, and Genis sat on the other end.

"So, uh, did you guys here, all that when you were in the yard?" Lloyd asked awkwardly.

"Yes, most of it." Raine answered plainly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her staring at me. Weird.

Genis looked down with an apologetic look on his face, "Lloyd, I'm sorry. It's my fault…"

"It's okay. I don't blame you." Lloyd interrupted Genis.

After a small awkward silence, Raine spoke up, "Lloyd, you should speak with Colette. Privately. We'll wait for you when you're done. "

"Lloyd, I'll talk to you on the terrace, okay?" Colette asked nervously.

"Yeah, sure. Can you wait a minute, though?" Lloyd responded.

"Of course. I'll wait at the bench" Colette said, and then went up to the terrace.

"While they're up there an' talkin', feel free to wander around a bit." Dirk told us. Kratos, Genis, and Raine got up and thanked Dirk, and went outside. Lloyd and went and followed them, I went up Lloyd's room to pack my stuff.

I got up to Lloyd's room and began to pack my item, supplies, and stuff like that. Since I didn't have that many things to pack, and since a lot of the supplies were back in Iselia, I was all well set to go. I then went outside onto the balcony where Colette was waiting. She didn't notice me until I went up to her and said: "Hey, Colette." Colette whirled around at the speed of light in surprise, but calmed down when she saw me.

"Oh, hello, Luke." She said, and went to looking up at the stars. I joined her in doing so.

"S-so, big day tomorrow, huh?" I said, attempting to start a conversation.

"Yes. All of my training will finally be put to use. I can save Sylvarant!" Colette said happily. I smiled at this; for some reason, I saw Colette like a younger sister to me. Maybe that's why I was looking forward to traveling with her (5).

I looked down from the balcony, and saw Raine and Genis discussing something, probably about the Journey of Regeneration. To their left were Kratos and Lloyd, looking over a gravestone. I glanced away from that quickly. I can't stand corpses, or killing, for that matter.

I looked back up at the stars. They were bright and twinkle-y tonight. I had heard back on Aulderant that you can see other planets if the sky was clear enough at night. In all honesty, I was kinda hoping I would see Aulderant in the sky tonight. I knew it was a slim-to-none chance, but I can dream. As I was stargazing, I was brought back to reality by Colette.

"Excuse me, Luke?" Colette asked me.

"Yeah?"

"If it's not too much of a bother, may I ask you a question?" She asked politely.

"Sure, go ahead. Shoot."

"Shoot? But I don't have a bow…"

"Never mind." I interrupted, "What did you want to ask?"

"I haven't really had the time to ask, but how do you know about Martel?" She asked innocently. I had to stifle my yelp, because I wasn't expecting that question. I decided to answer as truthfully as possible. 'As possible' being the key words.

"Well, not much, in all honesty. I know the basics, but I never really had time to go to church, both now and when I was a kid. I don't know much about the Journey of Regeneration, but I'm sure it'll be a nice learning experience, if anything else. Don't worry Colette; I'll help you through to the end!" I promised energetically.

Colette looked at me with an indescribable for a second, but then smiled. "Thank you, Luke!" When she wasn't looking, I frowned. What she just said sounded really forced and fake. It set me off the wrong way.

Just then, I heard someone coming up the stairs. Colette and I turned around to see Lloyd, who grinned when he saw us.

"I'll leave the two of you be." I said as I left. Lloyd thanked me as I went down the stairs with my traveling bag.

When I got downstairs, I told Dirk about tomorrow, and how Colette requested that Lloyd didn't show up, as harsh as it sounded. We talked about this in whisper so that Genis (who was in the room at the time) wouldn't find out.

"Ah, I see. Don't worry, Luke. I'll let yah out once Lloyd's asleep."

"Thanks." I then went outside to see Raine and Kratos at the grave. I walked over to them and they turned around to talk to me.

"Are you prepared for tomorrow, Luke?" Raine asked. Kratos said nothing, as usual.

"Yeah. I didn't have a lot on me when I came to Iselia, so I didn't have much to pack."

"Good. We'll leave at 9:00 tomorrow morning from the southern gate. From then on, we'll travel southwest towards the Triet Desert, in into Triet, the town closest to the Seal of Fire. Did you get all that?" Raine lectured. I nodded.

"Yeah, I got that." I then looked at the grave. It read: _HERE LIES ANNA. MY SHE REST IN PEACE._"Who's this for?" I asked.

Raine looked away, while Kratos seemed to grimace. "It's the grave for Lloyd's mother. I assume Dirk told you everything?" Kratos said.

My eyes widened, "Oh. …Yes, he told me." I then bent down to my knee, put my fist to my chest, and paid my respects. Raine and Kratos simply looked on. I then stood up. "I need to stay here until Lloyd goes to bed, then I'll go to Iselia. I'll see you at the gate tomorrow."

"Yes, see you tomorrow." Raine said. She then looked up at the balcony, where Lloyd and Colette were still talking. "Colette! Genis! It's getting late! We need to get back to the village!" She called out.

"Okay! I'm coming!" I saw Colette disappear from the balcony and reappear in the yard at few seconds later with Genis. I walked them to the exit of the yard. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." I said. Then I went back inside the house.

When I got to the bedroom, I saw Lloyd getting ready for bed. I pretended to get ready as well, and got into bed

"Night, Lloyd!" I said as I pulled the covers over my head.

"Night, Luke!" It took a few minutes before Lloyd's soft snoring filled the room. Silently getting out of bed and getting my stuff, I snuck downstairs and saw Dirk waiting for me. He walked me outside to the yard's exit. When we got there, he put his hand out. I took his hand and shook it.

"Thank you for your hospitality." I thanked him, is it was the last time I was probably gonna see him.

"Don't mention it. Providin' care fer those who need it is a dwarven vow, yah know (5)."

"Yeah. Again, thank you. I don't know if I'll see you again, but I'll stop by if I'm in the area."

"Yer a great kid, Luke. I hope you fare well in yer travels. Keep Colette safe, will yah?"

"Of course. See you, Dirk." And with that, I made my way to Iselia, checked into the inn there, settled in, and began to write in my diary. After all that was finished, I went to sleep. I was excited when I went to bed. Tomorrow was the day it finally began. The Journey of Regeneration, and my ticket to home.

_Luke's Diary_

_March 28_

_Day 8_

_The Oracle's Trial and Some Revelations_

_Man, today was crazy. I went with Colette to her school just in case the Oracle appeared today, and guess what? It did! Colette and I were supposed to stay at her class while Raine went and checked the Oracle, but due to Lloyd convincing her to sneak out of class with him and Genis, I had to go to the temple prematurely. We then ended up rushing to the temple, as Desians were heading there, and Raine was there also!_

_Turns out we went to the temple just in time, as Phaidra may have died if we didn't intervene. We then fought some Desians, and met a mercenary who was just passing by. His name was Kratos, the embodiment of the whole "Strong, silent type". Phaidra ended up hiring him when I asked him to join us. We then went inside to find Raine, who also ended up joining us._

_After completing some trials, we made our way to the top of the temple and Colette then received the Oracle from an angel named seems to be suspicious about Cruxis, but still let me go on this trip anyways. Tomorrow, we have to make our way across a desert towards the Seal of Fire. I wonder what the rest of Sylvarant is like._

_-Luke_

**(A/N): Yeah, sorry for the long updates in between chapters, I'm REALLY lazy, guys. Still though, I appreciate you all waiting patiently for a new chapter. You guys are awesome, and I love reading your reviews. They keep me going.**

**On a side note, what do you guys think of me combining some of my earlier chapters? Like chapters 1 and 2 becoming just one chapter. I've been thinking about it for a while, and I want to know what you all think.**

**Sorry about no skits, but this really wasn't a chapter to include them. There will definitely be some next chapter, though!**

**Anyways, keep an eye out for the next review! …Whenever it come out…**

**(1): Ever notice how much they say, "Let's go." in Tales of the Abyss? I remember the characters saying it a lot.**

**(2): I added "Sir" onto Kratos's name just for kicks. It does seem to fit, considering he's a Magic Knight, and all.**

**(3): Is there an English language on Aulderant?**

**(4): I got this scene from the ToS anime. Dirk was such a badass in that.**

**(5): There will be a bit of a brother-sister relationship between Luke and Colette. I just thought it would be kind of cute. **


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